Gentlemen, start growing those beards!

Example of full beard - natural. Photo by Seth Ington Duimstra, courtesy of Sethington's Creations.

As part of the upcoming sesquicentennial festivities this summer, a beard and mustache competition has been scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, August 5th. Hosted by the Manchester Ladies Society and organized by experienced beard and mustache competition organizer, Jason Heinrich, the competition will be designed to increase tourism and profit local establishments by bringing in regional competitors while also creating a fun, friendly competition for Manchester men to show off their facial hair.

Fifty years ago, centennial celebration organizers held a beard competition as well. According to Manchester's First 100 Year In 1967 by Marie A. Schneider, as part of Manchester's Centennial celebration, a beard contest was held with the categories "mutton chops," "Van Dyke," "most handsome," "reddest," "blackest," "most original," "ugliest," "fullest," and "grand-daddy of them all." Winners included Jim Kress, Webb Seeger, John Culp, Paul Schilling, Duane Kuebler, Guy Gilbert, Raymond Jacob Jr., Lorenz Wackenhut, Lowell Bishop, Dr. D. M. Petersen, and Carl Cole.

The sesquicentennial celebration beard and mustache contest will be updated to conform to current standard categories. These will include "freestyle" (this category is where creative styling comes into play), "full beard - natural," "full beard - natural with styled mustache," "business beard" (a beard under 4-inches), "partial" (which can include chops, goatees, and other facial hair that is not a complete beard with mustache) and "styled partial." If you are unsure of what these categories mean, a quick search on the internet will turn up many examples of each.

Ladies, do not feel left out! There has been a advancement in the world of beard competition since 1967 and that is "whiskerina." Whiskerina is a category for fake beards, which is usually entered by women. Beards can be made out of anything, from actual human hair to sequins, ribbons and even bottle caps, and judging will happen in 2 categories, "fantastically fake" and "fantastically realistic."

There will be three judges, who will hopefully include an experienced judge from the world of beard competitions, a Ladies Society representative and a Manchester Centennial Beard Competition winner.

Questions? Email manchesterladiessocity@gmail.com.

Example of "freestyle." Photo by Seth Ington Duimstra, courtesy of Sethington's Creations.

Example of "fantastically fake" beards made out of yarn. Photo by Seth Ington Duimstra, courtesy of Sethington's Creations.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.