'Stache Bash 2008!

Well, that's it. I hope that it was as good for you as it was for us. Attendance was not as great as last year- but we can only attribute that to the crappy weather. Whatever, those not brave enough to brave the weather only missed out on the best mustache party in town!

It's the most fun to see everyone in costume and character- many of who didn't break character all night.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ron Burgundy.



Redneck Matador:



The evening ran smoothly, pausing only for belly laughs and genuine hilarity. Somehow, our esteemed judges managed to keep the tears of laughter at bay.



From left to right, our judges were Mr. Fred Fox, a 7th grade teacher, and DonorsChoose.org project funds recipient (whose T-shirt read 'Shakespeare hates your emo poems' Amen!), Jen LaMastra, Junk to Funk Participant and hair stylist extraordinaire and Jonathan Buhler, M4K PDX Sweetest 'Stache 2007- need we say more.

A huge thanks to DJ ShortChange and Emcee Nicholas Kessler from The Liberators. We always say, leave the hard stuff to the professionals. Thanks guys!



In heats of 4 and 5, the mustaches strutted out to their song and answered the Emcees questions. Nothing was off limits! Questions such as 'Where do you see your mustache in 10 years?' and 'What is your mustache doing to end world hunger?' were fielded masterfully by well-rehearsed mustaches.



After a great deal of pageantry on the part of the mustaches; after nailing every turn, and keeping as sober as they possibly could, it was beyond their control. The judges logically and quantifiably scored each mustache. Then the winners were announced...


FIRST: before we get to Portlands Sweetest Stache- we've almost forgotten the main reason these men have been growing mustaches! For DonorsChoose.org. Including the money we raised at Holocene that evening, Portland Growers have raised over $4400 for DonorsChoose.org! YAY! The most dollars for children award went to Freddy Mercury with a total of $581!



Second runner up was taken by Exercise Eric (his friends call him 'Whiskers')



First runner up went to Lieutenant Dangle



Portland's SWEETEST STACHE of 2008 went to Cowboy Ryan



His mother was very, very proud.



... And we're proud of YOU Portland. Thanks again! See you next year!



Make sure to check out the Flickr site, which includes green room shenanigans!

Checkpoint 3- Slabtown

There are doubters out there, but we have proof that a man can grow a mustache in 4 weeks. The following photos prove otherwise
Check 'em out!





















Good work, men.

In other news, the 'Stache Bash is right around the corner (read: Tomorrow!!), and crappy weather or no, it will be happening.

There will be shenanegins, silliness and a whole lotta 'stache. A better time you will not be able to find in the Portland Metro Area tomorrow night. So you have -NO- excuse not to be there.

After all, it's for the kids!

Checkpoint 2: American Cowgirls

Luckily (?) for the M4K crew, American Cowgirls was a sparsely populated venue on Thursday night. This allowed our mustaches to take advantage of things they otherwise could not:

- The stripper pole had a very short waiting line
- The DJ booth (which also happened to be the cab of an old pick-up truck) proved to be a very agreeable photography backdrop
- The bar staff took our request for country music seriously (for the first half of the night)

Let it be known that Thanksgiving week treated our growers well, and there is some pretty stiff competition out there, if we do say so ourselves. But don’t just take our word for it:








Although we give credit where credit is due, we also give mad props and encouragement where there is low confidence and (perhaps?) even lower self-esteem. For those growers out there who are doubting themselves - keep thy chin up, think of the children and know that if you quit now, there will be endless heckling to face. Endless.

Speaking of ‘end-in-sight’, the Stache Bash is in 1.5 short weeks!! Tell your family, co-workers, friends, and frenemies.

Join us this Thursday, December 11th at Slabtown for some 'friendly' competition.



Cheers!

Checkpoint 1- Self-Doubt and Skee Ball

Week one and the mustaches are rearin' to go. Actually, truth be told, week one is the most trying, unless your name is Dan and you didn't get the memo that you have to shave at least once a week... Dan, if you're reading this, you best only be sportin' a 'stache come December 4!


No, week 1 is where the self-doubt is the strongest, and the mustache is truly at its weakest. Don't give up though! It's all downhill from here, a rolling mustache gathers no... um... Keep on growing!

The meet-up this week was at East Burn. A lively downstairs taproom opened itself up perfectly for a motley crew of scruffy ruffians (or ragamuffins?).

Also, since the organizers are such sticklers about things and like to put things on their mustache growers, they always make them wear a name tag (mostly so that they can learn each other's name... it has nothing to do with the organizers not knowing every mustaches name... not at all).

Week 1 brought our group closer together. It could have been the skee ball, it could have been the cozy booths, it may very well have been the beer... whatever it was, we're not going to dwell on it, we're looking forward to Thanksgiving!

We will not be meeting on Thursday, the day of Thanks, because, frankly, that would be wrong. And also, because it could also be the most lucrative day for our growers (especially if your family likes children!) The organizers are not that particular sort of evil. Instead the organizers decided to help their growers out by helping them prepare for the inevitable awkward mustache situation.

Questions such as 'Your grandmother tells you that she will withhold your inheritance if you do not immediately shave your 'stache- Quick- What Do You Do??!'
Example of Favorable Answer: 'Whatever, G-ma, I'm doing this for the kids!'
Example of Unfavorable Answer: 'Okay (walks upstairs to shave)."

... and so on and so forth.

The other things we're looking forward to is Checkpoint 2- American Cowgirls.

See Y'all on December 4th!

Clean Shave Day: A Baby Smooth Success!

Well, folks, the 2008 Growing Season is officially here. And it feels good. REAL GOOD. If you were at Life of Riley last Thursday for our Clean Shave Day Checkpoint, then you know how awesome it is to have a bar full of baby-faced men talk mustaches and charity. If you weren't able to make it out to Life of Riley last Thursday to see our clean-shaven Growers in action, then you missed out on a good time.

We started off the night with a Mustache ice breaker. Ever wonder how long it would take you to guess the name of a famous mustache if it were taped to your back? Didn't think so. Turns out, if you're Luke, it wouldn't take you long - he won $25 towards his total donations by guessing his famous Mustache first (The winning famous mustache? Chuck Norris)!

Luke: Clean-shaven and $25 richer for the kids!

We also spent a few minutes taking Mustache Glamour Shots to capture each and every Grower's glorious baby smooth start to the 2008 Growing Season. To check out all the photos from our Clean Shave Checkpoint, take a peek at our Flickr. Here are a few gems to wet your appetite:

Howie, a loyal Mustache: Stopped by before band practice!

Michael M: Smiling for the camera

Tommy: Posing like he means it.

Be sure to head to East Burn for our next Checkpoint, on Thursday, November 20 at 7pm to have a few beers and see all of our Grower's progress after one whole week of 'staching. And remember - they're doing the kids a solid and donating 10% of the bar to DonorsChoose that night, so drink up!

'Staches,

Chrissy & Sarah

Info Session!

Well, it's here! We've said goodbye to our Thursday evenings (doing anything aside from hanging out with the best men in town) from here until the last third of December, Mustaches for Kids is underway (won't you join us?)!!

We met at :Vendetta last Thursday for an Info Session in order to woo the ones on the fence, say hello to old faces and try to lure unassuming barfolk to our ranks.

We at HQ think it was a success. Being M4K virgins ourselves last year, things usually felt somewhere between hectic and crazy. All in all, shooting mostly in the dark, we had a fantastic time and couldn't not try for a bigger and better year this year. Thankfully there are some veterans on board this year: Howie, Don and Pete who we think will give the fresh meat stachies a run for their money (anyone who hasn't seen Pete's follicles, beware!).

Questions were fielded, info packets handed out and a short speech was made. For you out there who are saying to yourselves, 'damn! Is it too late? Must I wait yet another year before I try my upper lip at Portland's Sweetest 'Stace?' Well, dear reader, it is NOT too late. The growing season doesn't officially start until next Thursday which is the official Clean Shave Day. Please shoot us an e-mail asap to get further instructions m4kpdx@gmail.com.

Special thanks to :Vendetta who supported M4K by donating %20 of the bar that night. Portland is already on the map with $271! Keep your eyes peeled for grower profiles to be popping up to the right. That's the place where miracles happen!


We'll see you next week at Life of Riley!

-Out.

2008 Calendar of Events... And MORE!!

Alright facial hair fans -

We realize that last year we didn't do the best job letting y'all know where our checkpoints were going to be. We were so into being co-organizers that we wanted to savor the feeling of power of calling all the shots, how we wanted, when we wanted. We now realize this was silly, and that the more notice people have, the more likely it will be that they show up. That being said...

We want to give a shout out to the fantastic community members who have been supporting our efforts so far: Bishops Barbershop and :Vendetta (I would link to the website, but it's having some issues at the moment). Special thanks also to Donors Choose for getting our fabulous donation site set up. You, dear reader, can start donating now!

Here's the Calendar of Events for the 2008 Growing Season:

For consistency’s sake, and because we love being predictable, all events will begin at 7:00pm take place on Thursday unless otherwise specified.

November 6: Info Session at :Vendetta, 4306 N Williams Ave

November 13: Clean Shave Day at Bishops Barbershop, 1011 NW Everett, 1-4pm all Bishops Locations.
Note: Bishops will be treating growers to a smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom shave (also known as a 'gentleman's shave') as part of your ceremonious mustache beginnings. Details to follow...

November 13: Clean Shave Day inagural checkpoint will be held at Life Of Riley, 300 NW 10th Ave. Come with a smooth face, or do it when you get home.

November 20: Checkpoint 1 at East Burn, 1800 E. Burnside

November 27: Thanksgiving day- We will not be meeting this week, but it is a good day to solicit donations from whomever you share dinner with.

December 4: Checkpoint 2 at American Cowgirls, 500 NE M L King Blvd

December 11: Checkpoint 3 at Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th Ave

December 18: ‘Stache Bash at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison (time TBA)

We, the organizers, reserve the right to change venues if necessary, hold friendly competitions at checkpoints, to announce and gesticulate, to motivate you fellow growers and, lastly, to act as a sounding board for any conflicts (inner, or otherwise).

Your sisters in ‘stache,

Chrissy and Sarah

M4K PDX 2008!

Yes, loyal fans, it IS almost growing season.

We're aware that we've been absent from the web, and that questions are starting to arise as to what is on the docket this year.

To all mustache affectionados, growers, supporters and friends, do not worry or fret, wrinkles are being ironed out, logistics logged and details written in very small print.

We've got some new developments on the mustache front, complete with a partnership with a Fantastic organization, Donors Choose. Check them out at http://www.donorschoose.org/.

If you or someone you know wants to be a part of Portland's largest, funnest and best mustache organization (probably, I mean, who else is going to claim that?) give us a holler at m4kpdx@gmail.com. We'll put you on the list, and you'll receive news and updates as they arise.

'Stachley
Chrissy & Sarah

Mustache Haikus!

We here at M4K PDX Headquarters feel that it is our duty to share the M4K PDX Growers' haikus with the world. Enjoy.

Nate K:
All for the children
Are these Christmas mustaches
Like bright shooting stars

Darren C:
Some cause smiles, laughter
Others create fear, anger
You’ll never know which

Eric S:
Scratchy course whiskers,
Growing on my lip this fall.
Cash...for 'stache...for kids.

George T:
Tom Selleck, Ghandi
Charlie Chaplin, Chuck Norris
Now George Totonchy

Howie:
Hair grows under nose
Catching my post-nasal drip
Furry little friend

Terry:
On a cold winter’s night
Mustaches are relative
E=MC2

Nate S:
Stache bash, love you stache
My food is saved for later
Thank you my best friend

M4K PDX: Just Grow It