It has been called aggressive, intimidating and utterly disgusting, but the moustache I have grown to honor the month nicknamed Movember changed my view of the cookie duster for the better.
Random individuals around town have explained and nearly assaulted me with their fervor for my Tom Selleck-like moustache. This injection of masculinity into my appearance has been "useful," and I highly recommend you get in on the nose neighbor action if not this year, then next.
If you are one of the manly few who have grown a lip toupee, you now have a chance to show it off at a 'stache competition hosted by GoodLife Brewing and Spooky Dawson Marketing Group.
"We thought it would be a fun event, hopefully the first of many," said GoodLife General Manager Steve Denio.
The friendly bout slated for 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24 is all about rewarding the best mouth brows in the room. Look for $500 worth of prizes to be awarded for the best real and fake lip ticklers of the night.
"We're going to let the crowd be the judges and pick the winners by applause," said Denio.
A live showing of the moustache cult classic "Super Troopers" will follow the competition, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the St. Charles Foundation, where donations will be put toward free prostate cancer testing in 2013.
In fact, the entire month of Movember is about prostate cancer and men's health. The hairy celebration has been raising awareness since 2004 for the battle against prostate cancer and other men's health issues. The initiative was created in Melbourne, Australia, but has turned into a global movement with a growing number of supporters.
Last year, over 854,000 campaigners worldwide raised $126.3 million toward the cause, according to the Movember And Sons website.
Festivities have been in full swing all across Bend for weeks now, as you no doubt have noticed from the disturbing little fuzz lines above the lips of your co-workers.
Local company, Hydro Flask, created a waterbottle in honor of the month. They'll be selling the limited edition 18 ounce moustache engraved bottle for a short time only, according to their website.
In addition to flasks adorned with moustaches, the local Jazzercise folks are offering free classes for men all month long. They kicked off their focus on men's health with a Sunday afternoon Jazzercise event featuring Ida's Cupcakes topped with frosted moustaches.
"We had about 12 men show up for the first class and they all seemed to enjoy themselves," said Dendree Middleton, who teaches Jazzercise at the United Methodist Church on Bond Street. "About six men still come to the class regularly and really love it."
Lastly, the month-long awareness has been a boon for Bend Urology.
"It's been a lot of fun," said Lyndsey Holub of Bend Urology. "[It's] a different way of doing things to promote awareness of prostate and testicular cancer."
Bend Urology will keep the ball rolling into next summer, when a new running race called, "Dash for Dads" will bring more attention to men's cancer issues. The race is currently set for June 16.
If you didn't get a chance to grow a moustache this Movember, we strongly encourage you to join the men's health awareness campaign next year by growing some face furniture of your own. We're providing a few examples here for your inspiration.
A few of these are fake.
