It's growing season.
The men of Buffalo Whiskerino have begun their fourth annual month-long mustache-growing contest and beauty pageant that aims to raise money for Compass House. Compass House is a safe shelter organization that helps runaway and homeless youth in Buffalo.
The idea of growing facial hair or participating in a "whiskerino" has been around for a while and has been used to raise money throughout the country.
"When we started, there were already a couple dozen groups doing the same thing across North America," said Peter Firestone, a founding member and current grower. "We basically just adopted the idea and found that it was pretty easy to get people involved. We realized that many men harbor a deep, unfulfilled desire to sport sweet ‘staches; they just need some way to convince their significant others that it's the right thing to do – that their ‘stache is actually good for humanity. That's where the charity part comes in."
The contest, which runs from April 2 to May 7, is open to the public. Participants have to follow a strict code of conduct beginning with a five week "grow period" during which it is forbidden to shave. All members must start the competition with a clean-shaven face and post their picture on the Whiskerino website for verification. Throughout the month, members must maintain their ‘staches within the boundaries of the official rules.
The ‘Whiskerino Code of Ethics' encompasses the do's and don'ts of proper mustache growing for the competition. No extra facial hair besides the mustache is allowed on the face; no Frank Zappa handle bar ‘staches and no artificial hair enhancement will be tolerated.
During the "grow period," members must raise donations for the event which can be done in-person or online at www.buffalowhiskerino.com. Donors can select a random member from the Gallery of Growers and donate via credit card. Only growers who raise $100 or more will be entered into the mustache pageant at the end of the month.
The May 7 pageant, held at Gordon's Pub on Hertel Avenue, is similar to the Miss America pageant, except there are no gowns or swimsuits, according to Firestone. There is an expert panel that is made up of locally famous mustache aficionados and there is an initial "catwalk" round followed by various events including a Beer Foam retention round. The event is concluded by a question and answer period where contestants must convince the judges of how their ‘staches could change the world should they be anointed Mustache King.
"Just being a part of the pageant was awesome," said Daniel Massey, a 2010 UB alumnus with a bachelor's in African American studies and history. "It was a rush that I look forward to being a part of again. Mustaches have a bad rep that I believe needs to be adjusted."
Members of Buffalo Whiskerino also participate in other events through the month including a cameo appearance at the Roller Derby Match and at the annual Dyngus Day Parade. The last event is a tour of the Compass House so that growing members can see what the money they raised goes toward.
Compass House is a non-profit agency offering safe shelter and services for runaway and homeless youth in Western New York. Founded in 1972, the organization remains the only shelter and resource center for both male and female runaways and homeless youth ages 12 to 24 in Erie County.
"We had Buffalo Whiskerino approach us four years ago about doing a fun fundraiser that was unsolicited which was fantastic for us," said Candice Fletcher, development director of Compass House. "Two of the founders heard about compass house and approached us about growing mustaches for charity and wondered if we were interested in promoting it and being a recipient agency."
The core principles of each group are essentially the same. Both try to inform and educate while having a good time.
"The founding members were all involved on some level, past or present, in working with youth," Firestone said. "We all saw firsthand in the communities where we've worked that there is a need for services like those offered by Compass House. Unfortunately, we live in times where funding for agencies that work with both youth and the homeless are dangerously underfunded. And as we have seen, the consequence for cutting costs to social services today is increased costs to our community tomorrow."
For more information on Buffalo Whiskerino or Compass House, visit their websites at www.buffalowhiskerino.com and www.compasshouse.org.
