A Hair Raising Experience

in costume
Originally uploaded by chronic-shock

Wow. Where do I start? The first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships in Bend, OR was awesome. I had a blast. I meet many new bearded brethren with whom I partied my ass off.  We all felt like rock stars for a weekend. There was so many people taking pictures and lots of press coverage. OregonLive.com was there, Demotix was there, even the Los Angeles Times was there. There are of course YouTube videos. I'm quoted and featured in a video called Bearded In Bend from the local ABC affiliate station KOHD. I even got my picture in the LA Times. My pics of the event are on Flickr and Facebook. Visit the BTUSA website and Facebook for lots more pics and videos of the event. We even went for a Guinness Book of World Records record for the most bearded people in one place. My traveling companion, two time world sideburns champion and one of the coolest dudes I know, Toot Joslin, won the partial beard category. He also held a grooming clinic. Here's the competitions full results. Bearded badass Jack Passion emceed.

The day before the competition was activity day. I choose the Central Oregon Microbrew Pub Tour. Our tour guide, Amanda Gow from Specialized Meetings and Events wrote in an email "I wanted to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of the tour participants for making today's tour the best one I have ever been on."  We were a rowdy bunch. We visited McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Cascade Lakes Brewery and Deschutes Brewery.

The weekend was bookended by my whirlwind tour of the Pacific Northwest, from Reno to Bend and back again!

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Beard Team USA Nationals News and Updates

BTUSA 2010 Nationals Logo

To All Members and Fans of Beard Team USA,

Plans for the $5000 BTUSA National Beard and Moustache Championships in Bend, Oregon on June 5 are well underway.

Huge Announcement

Online registration for the Nationals is now available! Just go to http://beardteamusa.org/nationals for everything you need to know. Registration for competitors is $40, which gets you into the competition, two chances to win $1000 (one for winning your category and another in the drawing), and free beer during the event.

Before you register, be sure to check out the options available for activities on Friday, June 4. When you register, you can sign up for a choice of mountain biking, brewery hopping, canoeing, cave exploring, or rafting. All of the activities have limited availability so be sure to sign up soon. Click here for more information about the activities.

Also, note that there are three choices for lodging. The upscale Mt. Bachelor Village Resort offer rooms and condos for a range for prices. Most people will stay at the mid-range Phoenix Inn, which is offering suites to our group for a rate of $109 per night. The budget option is at the Super 8 Motel with rooms for about $70.

If you stay at the Mt. Bachelor Village or at the Super 8, you will probably want to have a car. If you are at the Phoenix Inn, you won't need one, since the Phoenix Inn is right downtown.

Another Huge Announcement

Two-time World Beard Champion (Full Beard Natural) and noted beard book author Jack Passion will not be competing. Jack is going to step aside and give others with full beards a shot at the $1000. Instead, he will be the onstage host of the competition.

Be sure to check beardteamusa.org for the latest information.

See you in Bend!

Phil Olsen
Founder and Self-Appointed Captain
Beard Team USA

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I'll be traveling with two time sideburns winner Toot Joslin.  I chose the Central Oregon Microbrew Pub Tour as my Friday activity. Bend is home to some of the finest award winning microbreweries in the Pacific Northwest. Guests on this excursion will sample some of the finest brews in Oregon. Stops on the tour will include a tour and a tasting at McMenamins Old St. Francis School, followed by appetizers and pints at Cascade Lakes Brewery and a final tasting at Deschutes Brewery. The tour includes transportation, tour guide, commemorative glass, entrance fees, beer tasting and appetizers. With Jack Passion not competing in the full beard category, I've now got a chance.

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