Greetings!

Long time no 'stache, huh?

We here at M4K Headquarters are writing to inform you that we have not forsaken facial follicle philanthropy. Although mid-November has come (and will soon go) with no talk of clean shave days, weekly checkpoints, or mustache pageantry, do not despair!

Instead, kick back, relax and coast through the holiday season. Eat lots of turkey and get plenty of sleep. You know, so that you'll be ready to grow a sweet 'stache in February.

That's right! M4K PDX is joining the growing ranks of chapters nationwide who are opting for a February growing season to benefit DonorsChoose.org. Because let's face it: the only thing that could make Valentine's Day tolerable is an army of mustaches. An army of mustaches raising money for kids in need.

So sit tight & tell your friends to pony up in the New Year! Stay tuned for updates and have a happy, healthy 2009!

'Staches,

M4K PDX

'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