Honey Grove Tea Party Tuesdays

One of RB’s favourite things on Instagram is a weekly little event called ‘Honey Grove Tea Party Tuesdays’.  It’s an opportunity every week for the online plushie community to join together in a great big virtual Teddy Bear’s pic-nic.  I mean, what could be better than that right?  RB loves his food and meeting new people so it’s a win win (unless he meets new people who are horrible, he’ll have no truck with them… but I digress… )

Honey Grove Tea Party Tuesdays are the brainchild of Boss Bear Hope and Elle.  We caught up with them back in June to explain all:-

How did you come up with the idea for Tea Party Tuesday?

I was sitting outside one spring day in March 2016 or 2015 (it’s a little fuzzy to me) and I thought how fun it would be to invite some Instagram pals to join me. I had just learned how hashbrowns (#) work so I made one up for a weekly tea party.  I had NO IDEA it would become a world-renowned phenomenon.  I greeted everyone who posted a photo to the hashbrown #honeygroveteapartytuesday and attempted to make introductions to newbies and a few familiar pals.  Others joined.  Others met new friends.  Others spread the word and invited their pals.  

I still greet each account that posts a photo and I have consistently held #honeygroveteapartytuesday every week since it first started.  I usually put the same chalk art sign in a photo to announce it on Monday evening.  Monday evening Texas time is Tuesday morning on the other side of the world from where I am (Texas USA) so plushies start posting photos right away.  When I wake up Tuesday morning there are already about 45-60 guests to greet! That’s a lot so during my morning tea and Elle’s (my female hooman) coffee, we scroll through and start greeting and virtually munching on the tasty treats.  By end of day there are usually about 150-200 posts EVERY WEEK, and then some run late (like a day or two later) and some show up early (like a day or two or three) I greet them as well.  I still try to introduce new guests to familiar regulars at the tea party though I can’t always keep up and sometimes I just don’t have to time.  I always encourage others to meet and greet too.  As of June 26 there are roughly 32.2 THOUSAND POSTS to that hashbrown are currently able to be viewed.

What are your plans for the future?

The future of #honeygroveteapartytuesday ?? Geez, I don’t know.  It just has a life of its own now. I’ve been told I don’t have to keep responding to every post, but I feel like I need to. It’s that Southern hospitality in me.  I want everyone to feel welcomed and “seen”.  It’s a fun, safe place to post and see familiar faces and get caught up.  It’s the one consistent hashbrown that brings others together every week.

It would be wonderful to host one in real life ‘in the fur’ as it were.  Have you ever considered doing that?

YES!! I think it would be terrific to have a USA teaparty tour AND even a worldwide teaparty tour. I’ve thought about having a ZOOM one too, but not sure how that would work since some plushies get camera shy when it comes to talking hihihihihi… 

Can you sum up what the online Plushie community means to you?

The plushie community is usually (mostly) a safe supportive place.  It’s where us and our hoomans can express some creativity and feel a little sense of community in this weird world where our hoomans deal with instability, stress, ever changing policies/careers/lives etc.  The plushies of Instagram offer consistency and fun.  No judgements, very loving and caring. 

Others, I have found are helpful and compassionate and you can always reach out to them by direct messaging.  And, the plushie community has the BIGGEST HEART.  So generous and loving, always standing paw to paw. 

Check out Honey Grove Bears on Instagram and on their own website https://honeygrovebears.com/