Christchurch Bears organiser Andrew Rusbatch gets us ready for Big Bears Weekend, this weekend!
For Christchurch’s tight-knit bear community, November’s Big Bears Weekend isn’t just another date on the queer calendar — it’s a full-blown social recharge, served with cheese, camaraderie, and a dash of ouzo.
After a 15-year break, the city’s bear scene has grown into one of Aotearoa’s most welcoming and reliably social corners of queer life. Steering it all is Andrew Rusbatch, who’s been involved with Bears Christchurch since 2018 and now chairs the group.
“Mark McLennan was moving on to the Pride Committee,” Andrew recalls, “and I’d been coming along to Bears events for a while. He just said, ‘Hey, would you like to join the committee?’ And it’s evolved from there.”
A space that still matters
In a world where queer connection is often reduced to apps and algorithms, Andrew’s motivation is simple: keep real-life community alive.
“There are fewer and fewer community spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community,” he says. “Some of our members might only socialise at Bears Drinks or Coffee Bears once a month. For some, that’s the one time they mix with other people from the community. It’s important they have a safe space to come and just be themselves.”
That sense of care runs through everything Bears Christchurch does — from the monthly pub meet-ups at Pomeroy’s to the famously friendly Coffee Bears Sundays.
“Anything I can do to help support that is a job well done,” Andrew says.
The Big Bears Weekend experience
This year’s Big Bears Weekend (13–16 November) coincides with Show Weekend — and it’s shaping up to be, in Andrew’s words, “a big weekend for Bears and their mates.”
The line-up sticks to a tried-and-tested formula:
- Opening Drinks at Retropolitan Social on Thursday at 7.30pm
- A Day Trip to Akaroa on Friday — complete with a coffee stop in Little River and, naturally, a cheese shop detour
- Dinner at Costa’s Taverna on Saturday from 7.30pm
- And a Sunday Afternoon Tea at Andrew’s home, affectionately dubbed “Château Mathias” from 2pm
“You know what gays are like with cheese?” Andrew laughs. “We’ll stop at Barry’s Bay, have a wander around Akaroa, and then maybe a pint at Tai Tapu on the way home. It’s just a nice day out.”
The weekend ends with something more intimate.
“I host the afternoon tea at my place — about thirty Bears usually descend on Kaiapoi,” he grins. “We put on tea and coffee, sandwiches and slices, and it costs nothing. It’s just a lovely, relaxed way to give back to the community.”
A welcoming crowd — not just for “bears”
If you’re picturing a room full of only burly, bearded men, think again.
“There was always this perception that you had to be big and hairy to be involved,” Andrew says. “I promise you, you don’t. We’re not going to coat you in honey or eat you alive.”
The group welcomes everyone — from early-twenties newcomers to septuagenarian regulars — and the vibe is deliberately inclusive.
“We’ve become more diverse than we used to be,” Andrew says. “We were once called the ‘gay RSA’, where all the old gays go to die,” he chuckles, “but that’s definitely not the case now. We keep it interesting. We switch things up. It’s a wide range of people, and that’s what makes it fun.”
With 2026 on the horizon, Andrew hopes to bring in fresh faces to the organising committee and expand the calendar. Ideas include bicycle tours, concerts in the Botanic Gardens, and more low-key social days out.
“We’ve got space next year to try new things,” he says. “But the big thing is — if we want groups like this to exist, people need to come out and support them. Without community support, we don’t exist.”
Get involved
Big Bears Weekend runs 13–16 November 2025.
Tickets for the Akaroa trip and dinner are limited — visit bearschch.org.nz or the Bears Christchurch Facebook page for details.
