It's a good thing Jay Fettig saw fit to place a tent over North Pier Brewing Company's back yard deck this weekend, because he ended up with nearly a standing room only crowd for his first ever Grand Mustachio Bashio, a tongue-in-cheek contest designed to capitalize on the popularity of the "Movember — No Shave November" movement that has spread throughout the nation, while making some money for one of his family's favorite charities, the capital campaign to build a new shelter for the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan.
The Mustachio-Bashio drew a sizable crowd and a serious batch of contenders for the title of "Mustache King of Southwest Michigan." A hairy parade of men, and one woman, ventured to the makeshift stage established by musical artists Slim Gypsy Baggage to showcase their facial hair-raising talents. Contenders stepped before the crowd with everything from peach-fuzz to something more akin to the Duck Dynasty crew, or to keep it more local — a quazi-House of David look of full-face bushiness.
Then, too, there was Rachel Luce who screwed up her courage and entered the category called "Nice Try," for those who realized their own fate was not going to earn them the tawdry plastic crown of the ultimate winner. Rachel gamely sported a stick-on mustache provided at the front door to anyone incapable of growing (or unwilling to grow) their own. The judges awarded her third place in the Nice Try category, good for a free pint of her choice.
The contenders had been working on their facial crop for anywhere from 8-days to several years, but in the end it was the glorious work of Daniel Christy of Stevensville that earned the title of Mustache King of Southwest Michigan, and the crown to go with it. He also earned a North Pier Legend's Club Membership, a free Growler and a North Pier winter hat for his efforts.
The night, complete with lots of outstanding North Pier Brewing craft beers on tap and a full-tilt Taco Bar from the crew across the street at the North Shore Inn, was set up to be a fund raiser for the Humane Society in their bid to earn the match from an important $50,000 challenge grant from the Upton Foundation.
Thanks to gate fees, contestant entry fees, 50/50 raffles, and outright donations from contenders, audience members and patrons — as well as Jay Fettig's personal match of those fees and things — the night resulted in nearly $6,000 raised for the cause. The final, unofficial tally, according to the Humane Society's executive director Jill Svoboda, checks in at $5,846.00.
For full transparency, I played the role of one of three judges for this event, along with St. Joseph Today's Tess Carragher and longtime Humane Society volunteer and Bids for Barks organizer Lynn Schlender. It was great fun, and if I'm a betting man, it will be back next year bigger and better than ever.
Keep an eye out for word of the 2nd Annual Grand Mustachio Bashio and if you want to be a contender, you might want to get started on your winning entry right now.
The crowning moment photo was captured by Candy Schwadron, who provided it to me for use here on Moody on the Market.com.
