Event will raise money for local group

Men (and, possibly, women): Put down those razors.

Your mustache could bring you glory March 29, when Blue Canyon Kitchen and Tavern and Family Friendly Flathead host a Mustache March Charity Fundraiser.

“Our goal is threefold,” chef Hugh Yates wrote in an email to the Inter Lake. “Revive a once-glorious grooming practice, humiliate ourselves in the process and raise some cash for a worthy cause.”

Mustaches have long been one of the most controversial facial embellishments. The king of Bavaria once banned them; men who defied the law could be arrested and forcibly shaved. Some employers likewise have forbidden hairy upper lips, and some men have defiantly worn mustaches as a form of protest.

“The popularity of mustaches has ebbed and waned throughout the ages, and in America today we find [ourselves] at a low point of mustache acceptance,” Yates wrote. “What better way to start a cultural movement than to embrace an unpopular social practice in attempt to raise money for charity?”

Facial hair will be judged in the following categories: Best ’Stache, Best Mustache with Beard, Most Disturbing and Ladies Freestyle (real or fake). Alex Neill, Mrs. Flathead 2013, will be among the distinguished facial hair judges.

The event begins at 6 p.m. In addition to the contest, Mustache March will feature live music.

A portion of the sales that evening will be given to Family Friendly Flathead.

For more information, call 758-2583.