Beard owners and fans of facial hair have reason to celebrate this weekend: The 2nd Annual City of Fountains Beard & Moustache Competition takes place Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Uptown Theater. Organized by the Kansas City Beard and Moustache Club, the event offers 15 categories of competition, ranging from two-inch "Business Beards" to "Freestyle," the full-on sculpted affairs.
To get in gear, we thought it would be fun to get a sampling of types of facial hair Kansas Citians are sporting. So we solicited photos on-air and online. You can see what we got in the slideshow above.
The club and competition at Saturday's event promote"positive facial hair awareness," which entails supporting local charity and volunteer organizations. Why organize a service club around shared attitudes about shaving?
"It's the common bond we have: the facial hair," says vice-president Garland Rankine.
To that end, the club welcomes women, children, and men in non-beard-friendly vocations as members and competitors in the "Junior" and "Fake Beard" categories.
The organization also seeks to move past antiquated stereotypes of beards as unprofessional, rebellious, or low-class.
Tara Shaw, owner of Calico Beard & Mercantile salon, has served a growing clientele of men interested in incorporating facial hair as part of a crafted, intentional esthetic.
"Most of our clients have the nine-to-five," she says. "They have to have the job ... and it's kind of a way that they can take that personality with them."
The City of Fountains Beard and Moustache Competition takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9 in the Valentine Room of the Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.