Whiskerino brings Battle of the Beards back to Petaluma

For 58 years, men with long beards have been vying for the top award at the annual Whiskerino contest in Petaluma. Check out some of the styles contestants rocked at Saturday’s competition.|

The layers, the asymmetry and the candy-cane design of his thick, auburn beard earned a middle school English teacher from Sacramento a competitive trophy Saturday at the 58th annual Bill Soberanes Memorial Petaluma Whiskerino.

In an elaborate red coat and with a candy-cane hook, the toweringly tall 35-year-old teacher, Justin Vorhauer, raised his arms on the stage of the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma and soaked in the applause.

“You have to appreciate the craftsmanship,” event organizer and emcee Fred Abercrombie said to the crowd.

There were 50 competitors, seven trophies and copious amounts of hair spray at the 3 p.m. event held for the pogonophiles of the region: those who love beards. The event drew hairy competitors from the Central Valley to the Emerald Triangle, including a sizable contingent from Sacramento’s Moustache and Beard Social Club.

At least 150 men, women and children were in the audience to watch - the youngest running up and down the skate ramps - inside the historic downtown Petaluma theater on Washington Street.

Founded in 1958 as a battle of the beards, the Whiskerino’s popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years. Its recent revival began around 2003 when it was held at the city’s Saturday Farmers Market at Walnut Park.

Around 2007, Petaluma couple Melissa and Fred Abercrombie took over. Melissa Abercrombie has sat on neighborhood associations and the city planning commission, she has led several groups and runs a holiday craft fair. But she said her heart lies in this quirky, historical event honoring creativity and fringe.

Since the Abercrombies took over, they moved the Whiskerino to the Phoenix and boosted interest, drawing up to 70 contestants, up from about a dozen in prior years. Lagunitas Brewing Co. sponsors the all-ages, no-alcohol event.

“It’s good, clean, hairy fun,” Melissa Abercrombie said.

The judges evaluated contestants in seven categories: mustaches, sideburns, goatees, beards, freestyle, a Whiskerina event for women and the “business beards” contest for amateurs. The event started with a children’s round in which everyone got a medal.

A special trophy was given in honor of the late Justin Bill Hunter, a Petaluma resident and Whiskerino devotee who died last year suddenly at age 40 from a heart attack.

This year, his widow, Tristy Taylor, of Petaluma sat on the judges panel. Taylor said her 6-foot-9-inch tall husband had a gorgeous strawberry brown beard, but he was known for the elaborate costumes.

Sebastopol illustrator Thomas James nabbed the memorial pageantry award. James wore a hand-crafted gold-painted cardboard space suit for his role as an ambassador from “Beardtopia.” James’ thick brown-and-silver beard was overshadowed by his intricate costume.

“He would have loved that costume,” Taylor said of her late husband. “He would have asked: How did you make that?”

Taylor was one of four judges. The others were former Petaluma vice mayor Tiffany Renée, Concord resident and former Lagunitas employee Tyler Warrender and current Lagunitas director of field marketing Jeremy Grenert.

Competing in the women’s field, Rita Bielefeldt of Willits built an intricate beard with cogs and keys. Her husband, Aarne, is a favorite each year with his signature Octo-beard - a six-hour hair spray creation akin to an octopus with circles at each tentacle end - that has put him on the winning podium at beard contests across the world.

Bielefeldt was a favorite in the “freeform” category. But he was beat by Vorhauer’s candy-cane beard design.

“I’ve been trying to beat Aarne for years,” Vorhauer said. ?“I am a happy man.”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @jjpressdem.

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