BEND PRIDE JUNE 2025 (BEND, OR)

We were invited to attend Bend Pride by the crew behind the very cool SUS magazine - a print magazine for the queer community of Bend, Oregon. We set up a booth for the main Pride event, bringing bear representation to a community that didn’t seem like they had a lot of it. We were invited to help set the mood for an afterparty at a brewery and jumped at the chance to debut our largest inflatable.

SOMETHING QUEER MAY 2025 (TUOLOMNE, CA)

Something Queer was intended to be the debut of our new inflatable - a 30 foot tall bub on all fours - but he unfortunately got stuck in customs and didn’t make it. We instead brought out all the inflatables that we had manufactured so far, spreading them out around the grounds at Deloro Valley Events Center.

CASTRO NIGHT MARKET APRIL 2025 (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)

We collaborated with a monthly street fair in the Castro, bringing four of our inflatables to flank two separate stages to make the event a little more fun and bearish.

WESTERN XPOSURE APRIL 2025 (CATHEDRAL CITY, CA)

A private home in the Palm Springs area requested a custom piece of art for their backyard, and they wanted it to be a pirate! He even has a removable pirate flag loin cloth in case he's feeling frisky. We custom built and installed him securely to withstand the desert winds, then headed to CCBC to set up art for the event.

TEXAS BEAR ROUND-UP MARCH 2025 (DALLAS, TX)

Our first time at TBRU was an adventure! We made it a road trip and drove the whole way, with special guest doggo Gaz Bearington keeping us company. We installed a few custom pieces for a private home near Dallas before heading to the main event, using a new, tougher sealant to make sure the pieces last. The theme for TBRU this year was Alice in Wonderland, and our big dickshroom inflatables fit right in. We also designed a new shirt with a cute cowboy riding a cactus just for the event. Those Texas bears were really hospitable, keepin us busy the whole weekend. We even managed to get a piece installed at the Dallas Eagle, so look out for that next time you're around. The trip back was a whole adventure in itself, too - if you see us out and about feel free to ask about the dust storm.

INTERNATIONAL BEAR CONVERGENCE FEBRUARY 2025 (PALM SPRINGS, CA)

Bearpad made the drive back down to Palm Springs to sell some shirts next to the pool at Hotel Zoso for International Bear Convergence, or IBC, held annually. We inflated a bub right next to our booth to add some more big fun bear energy to the event.

DIGSBY'S BEARPAD - FURTHER CONFUSION JANUARY 2025 (SAN JOSE, CA)

Teaming up with our pal Digsby, we set up an installation on the 'party floor' at a big furry convention in San Jose. We transformed our hotel room into an interactive multimedia chillout / cuddle space as an alternative to the more raucous parties in the rooms nearby. It featured a reworked version of the game software we developed for the COZYSPACE installations in 2022 projected on the ceiling, as well as a spot to draw, laser cut bear paw trinkets, donuts, stickers, and edited footage from old grizzly bear documentaries mixed with animations by PaddleBear. It was exciting getting a chance to transform something as uniform as a hotel room into an unexpected cozy experience.