we all know how important the beard is to the Fest. has anyone started growing their's yet? if so do you plan on letting it grow wild or will it be groomed. i think it'd be fun to set a Fest beard start date, like say it's july 1st, then on june 30th everyone should have to be clean shaven. then we'll get a true bearing for who's chin is most Fest worthy. of course this would really only work for the guys, and a few select ladies, ha.

I've got a pretty homeless looking unkempt chin right now, i'm sure i probably won't shave before october, maybe just try a little upkeep.

or then again, maybe i'm just reading too much into the festbeard.

If I could grow one I would. I may go for a 'stache.

sometimes a gross looking stache will trump the beard, as long as you look like you could be driving a van with "free kittens" painted on the side

Who said I didn't?

I was attempting one but I end up looking like a terrorist
also I can't grow a good beard, it's mainly just a neck beard and it really just looks like I have a lot of pubic hair on my face. i'm sure anyone who has seen me within the past month can verify this

but I just shaved and cut my hair yesterday =/

When you don't recognize someone you've known for ages because they are either 1. clean-shaven for the first time all the way since they hit puberty or 2. managed to grow their first beard, its awesome.

I have a beard for most of the year. The longest I've ever gone with no trimming* is 4 months. It was gnarly. The longest I've gone with no shaving is 10 months, but during that time I trimmed it down pretty short a few times.

I recently got clean shaven in mid-May, because I thought it might help with the job hunt, but I'm sick of staying clean shaven, so I stopped shaving about a week ago.

One of my best friends is 32, and he's really bummed out he still can't grow a beard.











* when I say "no trimming" I just mean on the main body of the beard. I still have to shave my neck, because it would grow all the way down to the collar bone (itchy), and I still have to shave the top edge of my cheeks, or it would grow all the way up to my eyeballs.

When I try to grow a beard it just reminds me of that episode of beavis and butthead when they glued their pubes to their faces. "Damn, we're smooth."

There are in FACT a few women in Gville with beards, chinstraps, staches, sideburns and the likes. It's called hormone injections and while I'd never do it myself, I was rather impressed! But you won't likely see them at the Fest.



But seriously, the TSA will likely screw with you if you are traveling by air with a massive Fest beard. So be prepared for the likelihood of the extra hassel and the special "cavity search" gloves.

Last year I started August 1st. This year I'm gonna start July 1st, since I want a beard for Best Friends Day.

the beard was pretty gnarly at last year's festivities, after seeing the pictures i've decided to keep it trimmed down a bit.

I think I'll lead a contingent from Chicago with handlebar mustaches.

One of my favorites, that I pretty much prefer over beards if done proper.

The Handlebar (Moustache) Club:

http://www.handlebarclub.co.uk/

I was thinking of a zapata stache...to solidify my mexican status

You have to wear the hat too I'm pretty sure.