Furry face-off at state fair

PALMER — Alaska State Fair officials found themselves in a hairy situation Sunday afternoon.

Although the fair has entertained locals and visitors for decades, this was the first year it has hosted a Beard and Mustache Contest, a showcase of uniquely Alaskan men and their fastidious facial follicles.

Ken Felber was one of the early arrivals with his wispy, nearly 10-inch mustache he calls the “Alaska Mating Call.”

“I had a ZZ Top beard in the ’80s,” he said, and shaved all but the mustache years ago. “When you fluff it out, you can’t beat it.”

Felber passed the time leading up to the contest chatting with Jon Smiley, who brought his full, bushy beard and styled mustache to the event. Called a Garibaldi, Smiley’s beard has taken him to competitions before. The secret, he said, is to properly maintain the beard.

“I’ve trimmed it a bunch of times and trimmed it earlier today to get rid of some of the split ends and stuff,” he said. “Condition, shampoo, comb and constant brushing. You have to train it, keep it nice and soft. You lose points if it looks scruffy.”

Smiley’s wife, Kas, prefers the look of a goatee to the full beard.

“We have a deal,” she said. “He’s going to shave it off once he becomes Mr. Fur Face.”

That’s the title earned by winning the beard competition at the Fur Rondy.

While Smiley and Felber take their facial hair seriously, it was a newcomer just out and about at the fair who stole the show.

Jerry Terp of Soldotna “just came to wander around, really,” and ended up on stage. His long, gray ZZ Top-style beard impressed the judges, said Audrey Martin of Benders of Hair in Palmer. He won the Colonist Beard category and the title Mr. Sourdough as the overall winner.

As a judge, Martin said she looks for “the fullness,” and Terp’s beard was an easy winner.

“This guy hasn’t cut his beard since 1982, which is older than I am,” she said. “He’s maintained it well through the years. … We are a state for beards and mustaches. I wish I could grow one.”

Terp said he has to keep his beard trimmed so it doesn’t get caught in his belt, but other than that, “I just use cream rinse on it.”

Dale Busbey of Palmer placed third in Soup Strainer with his mustache. He’s had it about 10 years and didn’t expect to win a ribbon. “I just wanted to have some fun.”

Felber’s Alaska Mating Call seemed to sit right with the judges, winning the Soup Strainer category.

In addition to Colonist and Soup Strainer, men competed for awards in the Urban Beard and Homesteader Beard categories. An urban beard is set off because of its tight grooming and overall look. Lee Brumbough of Anchorage took that top prize, pairing his full reddish-brown beard with a stylish sweater and cap.

Although judging can be subjective, George Griffin of the Captain Cook Barbershop in Anchorage said he was looking for the little things that set ordinary beards apart from the crowd.

“I’m a hair expert,” said Griffin who, coincidentally, sports a shaved head. “It’s got to be neat. (Felber) has got a perfect mustache there; his looks good.”

Playing verbal foil to the following of follicles was Neal Haglund, emcee and 25-year state fair employee. A competitor in other beard competitions, he recalled just how subjective judging can be. One year at the Trappers Ball in an anything-goes category, he lost out to a man who shaved half his face and a woman with a fake beard.

Haglund predicts a bright future for the Alaska State Fair Beard and Mustache Contest.

“I’m like a lot of these guys,” he said. “I don’t like to shave, and it keeps me warm in the winter and the mosquitoes off in the summer.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

Alaska State Fair Beard Contest

Sunday, Alaska State Fairgrounds

Soup Strainer Mustache:

1. Ken Felber; 2. Brian Snoderly; 3. Dale Busbey.

Urban Beard:

1. Lee Brumbough; 2. Brian Snoderly; 2. Jon Smiley.

Colinist Beard

1. Jerry Terp; 2. David Caswell.

Homesteader Beard

1. Seth Procter; 2. Buck Valley; 3. Charles Earnshaw.

Mr. Sourdough (best of show)

Jerry Terp