It’s that time of year to consider growing a moustache for an excellent cause.

Men around the world are signing onto the ‘Movember’ cause – growing a moustache while raising funds for prostate cancer research.

Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Those interested in taking part can register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. According to the web site, for the rest of the month, the ‘Mo Bros’ groom and trim their moustaches while signing up the support of friends and family.

In 2010, $22.3 million was raised in Canada.

Locally, the ‘Stache Bash 2011’is set for Chillabongs Bar and Grill on Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. Judging is set for 10 p.m.

The Movember movement continues to grow locally and internationally, said Steve Snelgrove, one of the event’s organizers.

“It’s grown by leaps and bounds,” he said, adding that local hockey team the Red Deer Pylons have been hosting Movember activities and taking part in the campaign since 2007. He said at first it took a while to convince folks in general that it was an actual fundraising cause, and not just a group of guys growing moustaches for fun.

People around the world have since taken up the cause, and today Movember is truly an international fundraising success, he said.

As to ‘Stache Bash 2011’, Snelgrove said many guys come to the event decked out in a costume that is somehow related to the style of their moustache.

Statistics show that 25,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone in Canada and 4,100 men will die of the disease this year.


According to Prostate Cancer Canada, it develops as a result of dietary, environmental and heredity factors (more research is needed to identify its causes and prevent the disease). Prostate cancer is also turning up in men in their 40s.

One in seven men will be diagnosed with the disease and it’s the most common cancer to afflict Canadian men. Prostate cancer has no symptoms in its earliest, most curable stage, and the good news is that more than 90% of prostate cancer cases are curable if detected and treated in their earliest stages.

Regarding Movember, the movement was launched back in 2003 by some guys in Australia who wanted to bring back the moustache into fashion while raising money for prostate cancer research.

Since its beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown to become a global movement inspiring more than 1.1 million ‘Mo Bros’ and ‘Mo Sistas’ to participate.

There are now formal campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and Ireland.

Besides fundraising for prostate cancer research, Movember representatives say they will also continue to work to change habits and attitudes men have about their health and to educate men about the health risks they face.

For more information or to pledge support for a Mo Bro, check out ca.movember.com.

editor@reddeerexpress.com