DO NOT DOUBT THE POWER OF THE MUSTACHE

Six weeks.
Thirty-one men, one woman, and one toddler.
$15,000.
One giant flock of some mean lookin’ mustaches.

The Second Annual Mustache-a-Thon – Son of ‘Stache has drawn to a close, the last hours a veritable whirlwind of whiskers, donations, and passionate mustache devotion. Mustache HQ was hit – and hit hard – by a maelstrom of last-minute donations and a Mustache Wrap Party to end all wrap parties.

Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath, count the donations, and measure the event’s Selleckiness, we have some very thrilling information to impart.

The question dangling on everyone’s mustache is “Did we meet our $15,000 goal?”

I am happy to report that, as of Monday, 10-09-07, we have raised:

$15,200

including cash in hand, employer matching, and outstanding pledges! That’s $5,200 more than last year. We received more individual donations and media interest than last year – the word definitely spread like a bad Fu Manchu.

Thank you to all of our donors, mustache growers, and mustache teammates. We couldn’t have done it without you.

If you haven’t yet made a donation – never fear! We will continue to accept donations until we are sure that mustaches have gained a significant foothold in the world of fundraising.

Mustache Wrap Party!

A Sellecktion of delicious mustache themed food! Yumm!

Special suprise guest, The Stranger's Party Crasher.

Our hero.

Jessixa draws Brad Wilke and his spectacular mustache.

Pin the Mustache on Tom Selleck - a game best left to adults.

The rockin' sounds of C'mon C'mon and fellow mustacheer Sean Bates. See C'mon C'mon for yourself on October 27th, at Chop Suey for Hallowqueen - A Night of Queen Covers. Check out www.chopsuey.com or http://www.myspace.com/cmoncmonband for more info

The Mustache Wrap Party featured “Pin the ‘Stache on Tom Selleck” (congrats to master pinner Sam Smith), mustache caricatures by Jessixa, an assortment of mustache movies including “Three Men and a Baby,” “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” and “Smokey and the Bandit," mustache-themed food, the fine music of C'mon C'mon, a Mustache Farmers Power Point presentation, and an awards ceremony that made the Oscars look like the Daytime Emmys.

Awards included:

BEST LITTLE MUSTACHE THAT COULD – Blaire Notrica

BEST CELEBRITY MUSTACHE (four-way tie)

• Doug Woodbury (Skynard roadie and Hulk Hulgan)
• Drew Johnson (William Faulkner)
• Ben Busby-Collins (Super Mario and Eric Estrada)
• Christopher Morris (Vincent Price and Errol Flynn)

BEST OVERALL MUSTACHE – Jon Allred

MOST MONEY RAISED (Cash in hand) – Tim Lloyd and Julia Dekovich - $1085!

In addition to raising the most money and growing the best mustache, this year’s farmers were attempting to raise more money than Mr. Geoduck. Despite being a fictional character, and a rather unpleasant one at that, he managed to raise $1014. The two growers to raise more (cash in-hand) were Brock Grubb ($1050) and Tim Lloyd.

Special thanks to: Mustache Mistress Rebecca Brinson, Mustache Photographer Ben Blum, Leigh Bezezekoff (who was fundraising for five mustache farmers), and our sponsors The Pig ‘N’ Whistle, Full Sail, Scarecrow Video, Archie McPhee, and Ballard Organics.

(From left to right) Mustache Mistress Rebecca Brinson, Best Celebrity Look-a-Like Doug Woodbury, Best Overall Mustache Jon Allred, Best Little Mustache That Could Blaire Notrica, and Mustache HQ Secret Agent Justin Allan.
Mustache HQ reviews and approves Best Overall Mustache winner Jon Allred.

The Mustache Madness Just Doesn’t Stop!

In early December, 826 Seattle will benefit from the generosity of the organizers of the Second Annual Mustache Bash. Last year’s bash was held at the Rendezvous in Belltown, though details about this year’s bash are still forthcoming. Keep your eyes trained to this spot for more information – and start your mustaches a-growing now. As the farmers of the A-Thon will tell you, a well-coiffed ‘stache takes a fair amount of time and devotion.