By Taylor MacPherson

A battle of the beards

Feb 20, 2017 | 3:00 PM

It was a fuzzy face-off last night as Prince Albert residents compared facial hair in the annual Winter Festival Beard Derby.

The derby, held at the Rock Trout Cafe on Feb. 19, attracted more than a dozen entrants with various styles of facial hair.

Board Member Chrissy Halliday was chosen to judge the competition, and said there is more to a good beard than just size and length.

“There’s a few little things that I look for in particular,” Halliday said. “The thickness of the growth, the cleanliness, the suitability and the overall appearance.”

Halliday said suitability is most important, as not every style looks good on everyone.

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“I go with what looks the best,” she said. “Does it really look good on the person?”

David Barks took home the prize for amateur miscellaneous, while the professional miscellaneous was won by Zachary Nelson. Maurice Bourassa’s claimed the professional moustache category, and the highly-competitive professional “fullbush” was won by Wayne Kiryk.

Kiryk, who had previously won the derby in every other category, said he was pleased to have completed the grand slam. The Saskatchewan weather, he said, plays a big factor in growing a full beard.

“Keep your chin out in the cold, I guess,” Kiryk said with a laugh.

Winter Festival Board Member Taras Kachkowski said the derby has been a festival tradition for years.

“It’s a fairly long-running event,” Kachkowski said. “My understanding is it started in the ‘60s.”

Kachkowski said he arranged a sponsorship for the event from Saskatoon-based Bearded Brothers Organic Beard Care, which provided beard oil and beard combs for all the competitors.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews