Put your razor down and bust out the mustache wax.
The Canyon State Facial Hair Championships are coming to Club Red in Mesa on Saturday, November 8.
This year's event, titled "Whisker Bent and Hell Bound," will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps wounded veterans and their families.
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The championships are just one of the many events that the Canyon State Beard Club, Arizona's premier facial hair-based social and community service organization, holds throughout the year to benefit the community.
"We started doing the championships to give back and help the community," says Jeff Cogswell, who founded the Canyon State Beard Club with his brother Adam and Jeremi Stoker. "We're just dudes with facial hair who are here to help people, it's just something to give back and support the Wounded Warrior Project this year."
Though the cause behind the competition may be very serious, the event itself is designed to be fun. Sure, many of the competitors may take it pretty seriously (some are nationally known for their championship-winning facial hair), but the event overall isn't supposed to be an intimidating ordeal.
"It's all just to have a good time. People come from all over the country to compete, so you'll see some of the craziest facial hair," Jeff says. "You'll see world champs who do competitions like these for a living. You'll see everything from giant beards to sideburns down to your knees to handlebar mustaches that are a foot long on each side."
While beards and mustaches may be the center of the event, you don't have to be the proud owner of some magnificent facial hair to attend, or even compete.
"It's not just about who has the biggest beard," co-founder Adam Cogswell says. "If you've got a three-inch starter beard, there's a category for that. We have two fake beard categories for women to get in on the competition too."
Overall, the Cogswell brothers only have a couple of recommendations for people who want to go to the event.
"Bring earplugs and come with the attitude that you want to be shocked and have a good time," Adam says.
"Aside from helping the community, we just want to promote facial hair growth and take away the negative connotations it has," Jeff says. "Have a good time and get to know your local beardsmen. People are always welcome to join our club whenever they want. We have a lot of guys who don't go to every meeting, but they're there whenever we put on something to help the community."
The weekend kicks off with the welcome party at 8 p.m. on Friday, with doors opening for the championships themselves at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets start at $10. Check out the event's Facebook page for more info.
