By Tim Kiladze

You may have noticed that an inordinate number of Toronto guys are now sporting staches. It’s no coincidence: men around the world have come together this month for Movember, a multi-national moustache campaign that originated in Australia and raises money for a number of diseases and conditions that affect men. For the duration of the four-week campaign, participating males grow moustaches and ask their friends and co-workers to donate to charities in return for interminable jokes and mockery. Here in Canada, the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation has been designated as the campaign’s primary beneficiary partner, but other charities have also been involved and more are encouraged to join.
Now that it’s the last week of the month, men who have endured raillery during the growth phase of their endeavours are proudly showing off the products of their hard work. While this facial hair may be passed over in younger neighbourhoods of Toronto, a good stache simply does not get missed downtown. And it isn’t hard to find one, considering that a slew of corporate sponsors including SAS and TD Securities have signed on to this year’s campaign. Something about the dichotomy of a 30-something guy in a suit in the Financial District with a JAM (just-a-moustache) will always catch your eye.
For those who skipped out on this year’s campaign, it’s probably too late in the game to start growing, but there’s still time to donate. The successfully mustachioed men who want to exhibit their hard work will get their chance at a Movember Parté this Thursday, November 27 at the Phoenix. Be warned, though: the combination of alcohol, ’70s music, and a bunch of real moustaches might just trip you out and make you feel as though you’re partying like (or with) your father when he was young.
Photo by akwalker from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.