There is no better way to celebrate Movember than with a moustache contest and some great bands.
Radio Laurier’s Movember-themed event, ‘Stache Bash, was held at Maxwell’s Music House on Thursday November 21. Radio Laurier brought in local band The Bends, Toronto’s Poor Young Things and Radio Laurier volunteer Isi Ingles to provide the entertainment for the night’s events.
‘Stache Bash was both a fundraiser for the station as well as an opportunity to promote Movember, a month dedicated to bring awareness to men’s health issues such as prostate cancer. Caitlin McNeil, events manager at Radio Laurier, mentioned that there was also a donation box at the front door for anyone who wished to donate money for Movember.
“We had a Movember-themed concert last year … at Maxwell’s with the same concept with San Sebastian. It was a relative success last year and we loved the idea and wanted to keep going with it this year,” said McNeil on the origins of ‘Stache Bash.
While ‘Stache Bash 2012 focused on getting one big name, McNeil and team decided to scale it back to more of a local/Laurier focus.
“We were considering doing entirely local bands but we ended up getting Poor Young Things through Maxwell’s [but they have played at Laurier numerous times in the past]. The Bends won last band standing last year and then we put out a call for an opener for those two bands. … We were intentionally looking for Laurier bands this year,” said McNeil.
“We plan on having another concert in March and we hope to go even more into the local/Laurier bands because … people want to see their friends play.”
To make the concert more interactive, Radio Laurier also hosted a mustache contest. Awards were handed out for Best Moustache, Best Facial Sculpturing and Best Beginner’s Moustache. The audience was able to cheer-vote for their pick and the moustache competition was steep.
Matt Fratpietro, lead singer and guitarist of Poor Young Things, greatly enjoyed the plethora of moustaches at the event, as well as the atmosphere of the guests.
“The audience was great, I saw a lot of familiar people … the people are really nice. We got a lot of good responses from the school and the area,” said Fratpietro on the reception of the audience.
While Radio Laurier held an official Best Moustache contest, Fratpietro had his own award to give out.
“The best moustache [at Maxwell’s on Thursday] was Scott [Burke, bassist of Poor Young Things] but he doesn’t do it for Movember. He does it because he’s a real man and does it all year long.”