The first ever Beard Team USA National Beard and Moustache Championships will take place on Saturday, May 36, 2010, in Bend, Oregon.

Bend was selected from over 25 communities, resorts, and hotels — ranging from Las Vegas to Peoria — submitting bids to host the championships. Bend has pledged full community support for this extraordinary event.

Located on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon, Bend offers fly-fishing, rafting, golf, canoeing, mountain biking, hiking, and possibly even late season skiing and snowboarding at nearby Mount Bachelor. Did I mention beer? Bend is the home of seven microbreweries including the famous Deschutes Brewery practically next door to the Les Schwab Amphitheater where the competiton will take place.

There will be competition in four separate categories designed to include everyone. The winner in each category will walk away with a cool $1000. So that everyone gets a shot at the cash, the fifth $1000 prize will go to a contestant selected at random.

Here are the categories:

1. Best moustache. Beards are allowed in this category but the contestants will be judged on their moustaches only;
2. Best partial beard. Includes goatees, van dykes, sideburns, musketeers, etc.;
3. Best full beard. Styling aids are permitted;
4. Freestyle. Anything goes. Anything. Be creative.

The date?? It’s May 36. Purists will insist that it is actually June 5, but since I have been promising for months that the Nats will be in May, I am sticking with May 36 for now.

The championships will take place in conjunction with the 8th Annual Balloons over Bend hot air balloon festival.

Stay tuned for information on registration, lodging options, transportation from the airport in Portland, and everything else you will need to know.

For now all members of Beard Team USA are asked to:

1. Make plans to be in Bend on June 5th;
2. Tell everyone they know about the BTUSA Nationals;
3. Keep growing their beards and moustaches for America.

Looks like the freestyle division is going to allow props and dyes… That should make things really interesting!

On Tuesday, December 1st I’ll host a moustache party to celebrate the growth that anyone managed during the month. We’ll watch a video of a previous World Beard and Moustache Competition, read selected passages from “One Thousand Beard – A Cultural History of Facial Hair” and other things that i have not yet dreamed up the somehow celebrate the often overlooked upper lip growth.

So gentlemen, start your follicles. And ladies, thank you for your patience.

Here’s a scan of the VIP ticket (necessary for all entries in the World Beard and Moustache Championships) held on May 23, 2009 at the Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center. I am thinking i should start a separate blog about beards some day soon.  Click on the image below for a larger view of it.  Note the excellent Pacific NW art in the background.  I did buy a “poster” of this artwork and need to get it framed and hung up.

Here is his mention and photos of us. And the next day you can pick out Earl and I in the parade in the footage that Adam shot. In fact, if you look closely you can see Earl and i in the still frame for the video.

For months this one cute kid in first grade has told me to cut off my beard.  I give him updates – “i will – in two months…” and today he told me to cut off the beard and i told him it would be gone next week.  He looked sad and told me to keep the goatee but shave the rest.  I told him it was probably all coming off – or at least the goatee would be very short and he once again gave a sad look and told me to keep it.  So cute!

In other beard news, those of you that wish you could grow a beard are in luck.  Erin makes felt and yarn beards and sells them in her imadeyouabeard Etsy shop.

Why am i so fascinated with beards?  Could i be compensating for something?  Perhaps my lack of interest in manly things like cars, sports, and watching TV all day?  Could i need to prove my toughness after sitting in a bus full of Vikings and repairing a sweater?  (No, really.  That happened.)

In less than 24 hours Earl and I will be in Anchorage and meeting up with Kevin and on the 23rd we’ll spend hours hanging out with some of the world’s best beards and mustaches.  (And the people they are attached to.)

Lately I have been pulling my facial hair into a pony tail of sorts to keep it under control. The director of the TV show that i’ll be on for the cart bike really liked it. He shot some footage of it up close and asked some questions about it and the competition.