The Best Beard & Moustache Festivals Around The World

Film buffs have Cannes. Techies have SXSW. So why shouldn’t, we, the mustachioed and bearded of the world, have our own festivals to celebrate our fine craft, ideally located in the world’s most highly visitable destinations?

Never fear, oh hirsute one. There are now not just one but quite a few beard and moustache festivals where we can come together to celebrate everything facial fur and compete for big titles while we’re at it. Let’s take a look at the best of the best.

1. World Beard and Mustache Championships

The Best Beard & Moustache Festivals Around The World

This is really the granddaddy of all facial hair competitions, and it remains the gold standard. While the Italian’s lay claim to the very first competition in the 1970s, it’s the Germans who hosted the most directly traceable first event in Höfen/Enz, Germany back in 1990. Since then, each competition has been hosted by a local moustache club, like First Höfener Beard Club or London’s famous Handlebar Club. This makes the WBMC the perfect excuse for travel, as there’s no telling where in the world it’ll pop up next. Other host cities besides the ones already listed have included Trondheim, Norway, Schömberg, Germany, Carson City, NV, Berlin, Germany, Brighton, UK, Anchorage, AK and Lancaster, PA. Moustache championships know no geographical bounds.

Up until recently, the Germans dominated the competition, but the Americans overthrew them in the Anchorage competition of 2009, taking home 12 championship titles out of a possible 18. Those are some profitable titles, as the competition doled out some $5,000 in cash prizes in 2011 alone. They allow for a lot of creativity, too, ranging from the natural category to Dalì, Fu Manchu, Musketeer, freestyle and more for a full 18 categories in total. That’s a lot of stache!

2. Beard Team USA National Beard and Moustache Championships

The Best Beard & Moustache Festivals Around The World

Unfortunately, the WBMC is only held every two years. Those who don’t want to wait that long to compete for the crown will do well to head to Beard Team USA’s event, modeled exactly like the world version. Beard Team USA consists of 100 smaller chapters from around the country, welcoming all regardless of gender or creed. The championships are family friendly, too, though there are naturally a few 21+ events. Last year’s event was held in Vegas, where I’m sure beards shaped to look like snowshoes and staches that could spear a fish weren’t even enough to make passerby blink an eye. This is also likely to be the case for this year’s event, held in New Orleans on September 6th and 7th.

Check out the Beard Team USA site for a calendar of regional beard and moustache events, so you can get in all of your prep at local events for the big time. And if you’re interested in smaller national and regional events held in other countries, check out the websites for associated clubs for more information. Britain, for example, holds their own national championship, as do several other countries, and they make for a great excuse to travel abroad.

3. Beard and Stache Fest

The Best Beard & Moustache Festivals Around The World

A much more recent addition onto the facial hair festival circuit, Beard and Stache Fest has quickly become a fan fave. And what better place to call home than woodsy Seattle, which has long been the leader in producing grunge rockers, hipsters and lumberjacks? Not content with a mere two days of celebration, B&SF takes place over the course of a month, generally around February and March, and events are held in bars and parks throughout the city. Last year, competitors even got to have their hairy portraits taken and plastered onto the side of a can for a nice take home prize (we’re all winners here). Activities are as diverse as venues, from themed parties like beards and paella to bearded ladies and karaoke contests. While there is of course a highly coveted prize for the best moustaches and beards, mostly the event is an excuse to congregate amongst furred brethren while drinking beer and raising money for charity. Sounds good to me.

4. Stache Pag

The Best Beard & Moustache Festivals Around The World

You’d think it’d be Portland, OR that would give Seattle a run for the “highest per capita mustache rate” claim, but it’s Portland, ME that wins the day with Stache Pag. It’s hard to define just what this festival is, as it seems to grow and change rapidly from year to year, but one of its defining features in the 2012 event was it’s three main competitions: “Five-Second Rapid-Fire Statue, Don’t Fuck With the Stache and one Surprise Competition Which Will Mindblow Your Skull.”

 This year Stache Pag also added an International Moustache Film Festival to its lineup of events, welcoming films of any genre as long as they were less than 8 minutes long and had something to do with moustaches. Credit for the idea for the festival goes to Nick Callaghan, who works for a film production company and wanted to devise a better way to solicit donations for the Northeast Historic Film Society.

Don’t see a festival near you? The moustache and beard community is growing rapidly, as is the demand for a good competition. So, choose your poison, and build your own if none of these fit the bill. You know what they say: Where there is a whisker, there is a way.***

***Disclaimer: No one actually says this. But they should.

By Rob “the moustacheless” Toledo

Rob is currently unable to grow a mustache, but is inspired by all of those who take the time to perfectly groom each bit of facial hair that continually grows day by day along the upper lip. He is currently working alongside tripinsurance.com who recommends flight insurance before your next big adventure to a moustache festival.