Annual celebration offers patrons a chance to celebrate their mustaches

SECRET 'STACHEHere are five things you probably didn't know about the mustache.• Every November, British men grow mustaches in honor of "Movember," a nationwide event to raise money and awareness for the prevention of cancers affecting men.• Marine grooming regulations allow for a mustache, but "the individual length of a mustache hair fully extended must not exceed 1/2 inch."• Of all the kings in a standard deck of cards, only one, the King of Hearts, doesn't have a mustache.• Since William Howard Taft's administration in 1909, the oval office has housed only clean-shaven presidents.• According to Guinness World Records, the longest mustache belongs to Ram Singh Chauhan of India, whose whiskers measure 14 feet.THE 'STACHE STOPS HERE• Terminal Brewhouse, 6 E. 14th St., 752-8090- Bacon-infused vodka, $3.• Pickle Barrel, 1012 Market St., 266-1103- Caucasian (white Russian) mixed drink, $4.75.• JJ's Bohemia, 231 M.L. King Blvd., 266-1400- Social mixer/concert at 8 p.m.• The Honest Pint, 35 Patten Parkway, 468-4192- Green Jell-O shooters, $1.• Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St., 634-0260- Hunch punch shots, $1.• Hair of the Dog, 334 Market St., 265-4615- Flavor Saver shots, $2.• Raw Sushi Bar and Nightclub, 409 Market St., 756-1919- Discounted domestic bottled beer for $2.• Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike, 266-1996- 16-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, $1.MUSTACHE POLLAccording to a November 2010 poll of about 14,000 men for the British male news site MSN Him, these are the most famous soup strainers of all time:Salvador Dali (24 percent)Hulk Hogan (18 percent)Albert Einstein (13 percent)Friedrich Nietzsche (12 percent)Charlie Chaplin (11 percent)Freddie Mercury (11 percent)Daley Thompson (4 percent)Bruce Forsyth (3 percent)Jimi Hendrix (3 percent)Ian Botham (1 percent)

For generations, the mustache was celebrated as a facial accouterment, claiming prime real estate on the upper lips of celebrities ranging from Mr. Potato Head to Tom Selleck. In the 1990s, however, the mustache went from must-have to must-shave.

In 2006 here in Chattanooga, a group of fans of lip hair set out to change the mustache's image by growing their own and displaying them proudly in public.

"A couple of us decided that, by celebrating the 'stache, we could take back the creep factor of it and take it back from cops and your girlfriend's dad - people who typically have a mustache," said Chris Eaves, one of Moustache Friday's founders.

"I think it's worked," he said. "You can now compliment another man's mustache in public. That might have landed you in a fight a couple of years ago."

Eaves said the founders of Moustache Friday chose to gather at a local Olive Garden restaurant for the inaugural year because it "would be a ridiculous place for a bunch of men under 30 to go to with mustaches." Later that evening, however, they migrated to local bars, where word of their holiday spread, he said.

The next year, Moustache Friday attracted 20 people, mostly through word of mouth. Over time, it has grown exponentially into an annual event celebrated by hundreds of men every fourth Friday in March. Moustache Friday chapters have even sprung up as far away as Nashville, Alabama and Baltimore, Eaves said.

Tonight marks Chattanooga's sixth Moustache Friday. This year is shaping up to be the biggest and bushiest yet, said John Shoemaker, co-owner of nightclub JJ's Bohemia, where Eaves' band, The Formidables, will make their debut as part of the festivities.

In addition to their annual tradition of hosting a concert later in the evening, JJ's also will offer an earlier social mixer and concert with free beer sponsored by New Belgium Brewery. Only those with legitimate 'staches need apply, though, Shoemaker said.

"I'm pretty strict on it," he said. "The mustache has to be an island; it can't be connected to other stuff.

"Some people go all out and do a great job on it, so I don't want to cheapen it with someone who has peach fuzz they've been growing for two days."

In addition to JJ's, eight other clubs and bars downtown and in North Chattanooga will be offering discounted drinks to mustache-sporting patrons.

Local musician TJ Greever's band, Glowing Bordis, also will perform at JJ's tonight. Greever has participated in every Moustache Friday, and this year, he'll be sporting a thick Fu Manchu.

Besides offering a chance to win back approval for the much-maligned mustache, Greever said Moustache Friday also turns the tables at venues that regularly offer discounts to female patrons.

"You always have the ladies nights and other stuff at clubs ... and I thought it was cool to have something on the other side of things, 'a gentleman's night,' so to speak," he said, laughing.

For some participants, Moustache Friday is their first foray into sporting facial hair, and in some cases, it sticks around long after the evening ends, Eaves said.

"I like to think the mustache grows you and takes control for a while," he said, laughing. "I've seen guys who started on Moustache Friday and never went back. I like that. It's good to see that it's had a positive effect on them."

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