Fat Bear Week is an annual event held in October by Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, commemorating the impressive seasonal preparations made by brown bears inhabiting Katmai as they ready themselves for their winter hibernation. The competition is jointly organized by the National Park Service and Explore.org. Human spectators from around the world are invited to participate by casting online votes to determine the bear that has most effectively accumulated fat reserves.

Each year, park rangers create a tournament-style bracket pitting individual bears in the park against each other. The public then votes to see who will advance each round. Voting takes place over several days on www.fatbearweek.org. People may vote using any criteria they see fit. In the end, one bear will reign supreme.

This year, WCPL Bryan invites our patrons to tune in with us all week and participate in the celebration by creating bear brackets, making some cool bear-themed crafts, and learning about the impressive feats of weight-gaining demonstrated by these remarkable animals.  Check out the linked website above for more information about the event and keep an eye out a Bryan for cool programs this week!