Beard and moustache contest draws hairy crowd
The Herald-Sun | Keith Upchurch Two contestants (center and right) compete in an arm wrestling tournament Saturday afternoon at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on West Main Street.
It took effort, but Rusty Miller finally got a handle on his moustache.
Miller, a 36-year-old Duke Cycling Team coach, participated in Saturday’s inaugural beard and moustache contest at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on West Main Street.
The symmetry of his moustache was impressive, but Miller said that didn’t happen by magic.
“It started as a beard, and for lots of years, I wore a beard every fall and shaved it off in the spring,” he said. “But one day I just left the moustache and a bit of extra hair to twirl the ends of it. And what began as a stunt took on a life of its own.”
Miller said when he wakes up in the morning, the moustache requires some major tweaking.
“At home, we have a rule: No talking to me while I’m waxing this moustache,” he said. “It takes a bit of concentration.”
This was Miller’s debut in a facial-hair faceoff.
“I came because it’s for a good cause, and to celebrate the moustache,” he said.
The charity event raised money for arts programs for underprivileged women and girls in Durham, with McCabes and other businesses donating to the cause.
Men were judged on beauty and women on strength – a reversal of the norm.
A women’s arm wrestling contest drew crowds to the outdoor courtyard at Five Points. Among the contestants were Lady Sky Diver (Allie McClure) and Popeye The Slayer (Meredith Hancock).
Veins were popping, but Ms. Diver flattened Ms. Slayer’s arm in the end.
Both women are part of a group called Ladies’ Upper Extremity Wrestling Women in Durham (LUEWWD), which teamed with others for the fundraiser.
Hancock conceded that Lady Sky Diver out-muscled her, but she was upbeat about the loss.
She said she chose Popeye for her costume because she likes sailor characters.
“I’m kind of small, so I was thinking about what kinds of characters would be small but also kind of scrappy, and Popeye came to mind,” the 34-year-old psychotherapist said.
McClure, a 26-year-old Duke University graduate student in the cancer biology program, has been getting into shape for the contest by playing Ultimate Frisbee.
“This is a lot of fun, and a great way to raise money for women and girls in Durham,” she said. “It’s a good mix of theatrics and strength competition.”