The Thought Lot’s third annual Bearding Man facial hair competition opened the doors to endless opportunities Saturday evening.

Contestants included men with full-grown beards, a teacher with a wooden ruler creation and even a baby with drawn on art. Those participating in the competition entered into one of 14 categories for a chance to win Lord of the Beards.

Before the competition began, Philadelphia artist City Rain opened with U2’s famous song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’ve Been Looking For.” But with such a wide array of hairy creations, the judges were destined to find what they were looking for.

One contestant that really stuck out, and ultimately won second in her category, was Kateri Fikar. Fikar made her own strawberry dress and showed up with a very convincing fake beard. Her inspiration came from her husband and father-in-law, who competed last year.

“The guys have a lot of fun doing it and I figured, why not?” Fikar said.

People came from all across the states to compete for the ultimate title in the facial hair kingdom. One dedicated traveler was Eric Zatchok from Ohio. Zatchok has been competing for five years and says his curly beard takes two hours to create. He won first place for the freestyle category.

Amidst the crowd of competitors was Shippensburg University math professor Daniel White, who entered in the teacher’s beard category. This is his third year competing at the Bearding Man.

“I really like that the organizer brings back all the money that he gets to the local community,” White said.

This year all the proceeds went toward The Franklin Learning Center in Chambersburg. Barbatus Grooming, Peck’s Mower Repair, Alpha Fitness, Shamrock Barber Shop and Beistle sponsored the event. In addition, several businesses circled the room with their tables full of products. Bearded Bull-Pug Woodcrafts sold handcrafted combs, Denim Coffee provided refreshments and Ink and Ashes Tattoo even had a finger mustache tattoo for only $25.

Sweat penetrated through the air as The Thought Lot burst through the seams with its numerous people mingling about. From an outsider it appeared like one big family reunion. Everyone was joking around and comparing their latest facial hair masterpieces.

“We all have beards, so let’s have a good time together,” Bearding Man organizer Adam Crabill said.

The Lord of the Beards was selected through a two-tier process. First they were judged by a panel of six judges within their individual category. One of the guest judges was presidential candidate Vermin Supreme, who believes in giving all Americans free ponies.

Vermin explained how he never really was part of the beard community but was eager to be involved in the event. He fit right in with his mix-matched outfit, boot hat and Dumbledore beard. Vermin even entertained the guests as he paraded around pretending to chop off beards with a large pair of scissors.

Those that won first place moved on to a smaller pool for the audience to vote for with the tickets they received at the door. After the mad exodus of attendees casted their votes, Jarrod Greene was announced as the 2016 Lord of the Beards. 

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