Photo by Milestones Photography

The Mustache Rides Again

Bros, Beards and Boxers Raise Awareness Downtown

By Julie Guggemos
Contributing Writer

The men of Fargo have been exercising their follicular creativity during the month of February (dubbed FeBROary) to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

“There are some really beautifully groomed and waxed handlebar mustaches,” said Karen Stoker, owner of the Hotel Donaldson. “We’ve got guys doing great big sideburns. If you come into the hotel you’ll see some creative facial hair.”

The third annual Bros on Broadway event will take place Thursday, Feb. 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Hotel Donaldson. Bros on Broadway is a night of food, drink, music and games in celebration of the mustache and a benefit for the American Cancer Society to cap off fundraising efforts that have taken place during February. 

Last year, Bros on Broadway raised enough money to donate $44,000 to the American Cancer Society.

Fundraisers do not need a prostate or facial hair to participate, Stoker said.

Alison Ottesen, the general manager of the Hotel Donaldson, has been involved with the event since it started. Her grandmother, Mary McPherson, has even gotten in on the fun. Before the first annual Bros on Broadway, her family bought McPherson a costume, applied a stick-on mustache to her face and created Albert Einstein out of their grandmother. She won Best in Show at the costume contest. The next year, McPherson was back as one of the Three Musketeers and took Best in Show again.

This year McPherson will compete again as Colonel Sanders. Who knows, maybe she’ll arrive with her own Original Recipe.

Ottesen said participants have been creative with their facial hair; over the years and now many plan their facial statements in advance.

“They’ve started growing earlier,” she said. “A lot of people are rocking the chops with the connected mustache this year.”

Bill Lempe began growing his beard in December in preparation for Bros on Broadway. This is Lempe’s third year as a participant helping to raise money.

In past years, Lempe has donned a mustache for the event, including a waxed mustache with curls. This year he has taken the woodsmen’s approach.

“I look like I’ve been lost for a long time,” he said. “I’ve done some minor trimming, so when I go to business meetings I don’t look like I just rolled off a logging camp.”

The beard has served as a conversation starter, Lempe said, prompting explanations of Bros on Broadway and his participation in fundraising for prostate cancer.

Lempe said he respects Bros on Broadway’s sister event, Bras on Broadway, so getting involved in the prostate cancer awareness campaign seemed natural to him.

“It’s affected people in my family,” Lempe said. “It seems like a really curable disease, but it is fatal for some men. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t get caught soon enough it can spread.”

Stoker said the organizers of Bros on Broadway have fun with the event and are very serious about the money they raise. Beyond the money and the fun, Stoker said, it is a chance for men to consider the health of their prostate.

“What we really want to work hard for, equally, is creating that awareness,” Stoker said.

According to the American Cancer Society website, one in six men will have prostate cancer in their lifetime. Although one in 36 men with prostate cancer will die of the disease, there is a 90 percent survival rate if the disease is detected soon enough.

“We really do have a lot of power with this cancer,” Stoker said. “We want to create as much awareness as possible. We can have a huge effect just where we’re standing right now.”

Women are more comfortable going to a doctor in many cases, Stoker said. Considering the reluctance many men have to participate in a rectal exam, one concern Stoker highlighted is that men will avoid getting tested for prostate cancer, which can stall that early detection. Bros on Broadway wants men to know there is now an alternative to the old technique. There is now a blood test that can detect prostate cancer in the body.

“Every year when you get tested, you’re able to see if it’s in a healthy range or not,” Stoker said. “Now it really isn’t that big of a deal to go in and get checked.”

A ticket to the Bros on Broadway provides access to dude food, drinks, bands, games, the mechanical bull and the photo shoot, Stoker said. This year’s photo shoot offers professional shots of the facial hair glory that can be brought home the night of the event. There will also be a raffle at the event, which will offer prizes including a Denver Broncos package, a trip to Las Vegas, a WWII-era P51 Airplane ride and a wrist watch and a David Yurman ring donated by Royal Jewelers. Raffle tickets can be purchased from the fundraising teams.

The musical headliner for this year’s event is yet to be decided because Ofosho! and the Inside Out Strings have gotten in on the Bros for Broadway fun. Each band has a team competing to raise money; the winner will be the headliner the night of Bros on Broadway.

Stoker said the ultimate goal of the event, beyond raising money, is for men to think about their health, and she’ll do anything she can to remind them. Everyone is encouraged to bring boxers or briefs to the HoDo in honor of prostate cancer awareness. The goal, Stoker said, is to get enough men’s underwear to cover the outside front of the hotel. Stoker hopes the mass of men’s underwear will make people think more than twice about the health of their prostate.

“It doesn’t cost anything other than a pair of underwear,” Stoker said. “Drop your drawers. Clean out your underwear drawer. I want underwear hanging from the hotel.”

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IF YOU GO:
What: Bros on Broadway
Where: Hotel Donaldson
When: Thursday, Feb. 24, 6 - 10 p.m.
Cost: $50, fundraisers who collect $250 get a complementary ticket.
Info: brosonbroadway.com (you can donate, sign up or get some ‘stache inspiration there, too)
Donate: Text “FIGHT” to 20222 to donate $5 to Bros on Broadway