International Bear Rendezvous 15 is coming up soon and bears are already descending on San Francisco like trailer park queens at a cheap Las Vegas buffet.

International Bear Rendezvous (IBR) is to the bear world what International Mr. Leather (IML) is to the leather world. IBR is hosted by the Bears of San Francisco, who started Rendezvous as a weekend of fun and fund raising. Since the first Rendezvous in 1995, the net proceeds have resulted in donations totaling more than $435,000 to worthy organizations. This year’s beneficiaries are the Positive Resource Center, Transgender Law Center and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

International Bear Rendezvous 15 officially begins on Feb. 12 and runs through Feb. 16 and the host hotel is once again the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway on Van Ness. This year’s theme is “Mechanics: Bears Under the Hood.” Hmmm … gotta love working on those uncut bears, eh?

For some reason there cannot be any sort of gay celebration week or weekend without a pre-event, event so on Wednesday, Feb. 11 the San Francisco Movie Bears are hosting a fun night at the theater before all the mayhem begins.

Everyone knows once a bear is out of the woods, the true queen inside emerges, so the SF Movie Bears have reserved a block of tickets to Wicked. The performance will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75 for orchestra and loge, $38 for balcony and $29 for side balcony.

The first “official” party is the “Grease Ball” in the Emerald Ballroom of the Holiday Inn on Feb. 12. This will be the second year for the “meet and greet” with live new wave band 8086 providing entertainment. Of course, since it is a bear event, there will be complimentary snacks.

Following the meet and greet is the welcome party at my favorite bear bar, the bear-world famous Lone Star Saloon on Harrison Street. The Bears of San Francisco will be hosting a beer bust free with event tags, and the Lone Star will provide food so the bears don’t lose their belly/paunch before the week is over. Down the street, the Eagle Tavern will also have a welcome party with beer bust and food just in case all the bears can’t fit inside the Lone Star Saloon.

On Friday the 13th, once all the welcoming is over, the bears with class and culture will head to Golden Gate Experience: California Academy of Sciences De Young Museum. The slutty (or friendlier) bears will migrate across the bay to Bears: the Baths and Beyond at the Steamworks. There is a slut bus that’ll take you to Steamworks for $45, and that includes membership (this is a private club), locker and a buffet provided by Bear Depot. I’m personally not a big fan of mixing food and sex but … let’s just leave that one alone for now.

IBR does happen in San Francisco and these are gay men so there must be a big dance party every night of the weekend.

“MAGNUM” kicks off from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. at the DNA Lounge located at 375 Eleventh St. at Harrison. “BEARRACUDA” takes over on Saturday at DECO located at 510 Larkin Street. There is always a “SWEAT” dance at these bear events, so, also on Saturday night, Blaine Soileau and the men from Grey Rose Productions will be steaming it up across town in South of Market.

The reason for all the fun and excitement of International Bear Rendezvous is the International Bear Competition on Sunday, Feb. 15 in the Emerald Ballroom of the Holiday Inn. Contestants from around the world – including Ray Torres from San Diego – are scheduled to compete for the international titles of Mr. Daddy Bear, Mr. Grizzly Bear, Bear Cub, and the overall Mr. Bear. The event has up to 16 contestants, each having the opportunity to show themselves in Casual Wear, Bear Minimum and Bear Wear, as well as express themselves in an answer to a group question. Unlike a lot of leather competitions, the bear contests seem to be more about fun, sex and food, whereas the leather competitions are more about saving the world – unless you skip the festivities and make it all about sex. The leather competitions however are never about food.

For more information on International Bear Rendezvous, check out the Bears of San Francisco at www.bosf.org.

See ya’ in the bear pit.