For Bangalow barber Paula Kutzner, the idea for a Beard Fest began with the loss of someone very close to her to suicide. One of six children, including four boys, she thought she well understood ‘men’ and the ‘male world’. This unforeseen death triggered a change of focus in the life of this Bangalow barber, and a question about what we do with the things that are difficult to talk about.

Paula opened bijou barber shop Stubble and Pluck on Deacon Street two months ago, underneath the Yogalates studio in Bangalow. Before moving to Bangalow in 2024, she had worked as a barber on the Sunshine Coast for nearly eight years. She’s also worked in project management in the building industry, aged care and interior design.

“As a barber, every day I see how the chair can become a place where men talk, sometimes about football, work and family. But sometimes about things that are much harder to say elsewhere,” Paula said.

That got her thinking: how can I give this new business more purpose? Her own experience has reinforced how important connection, conversation and community can be, particularly when people are going through difficult times.

So she decided to create a novel event: the Bangalow Beard Fest, to be held at Bangalow’s Heritage House on the morning of Saturday 7 November. It’s a fundraising event for Movember, the annual Australia-wide charity event supporting men’s mental health and suicide prevention during November.

She’s now looking for 20 entrants who are prepared to take part in two beard and moustache parades, to be judged by those present, happening alongside the Saturday morning Farmers Market.

There are four categories open to entrants: Best Beard (“Let your DNA do the talking”); Mo’ment of Glory (“For the mo that makes people stop mid-conversation”); Who Plucked Whom (“Best owner and pet match”); and The Farno Duo (“Any intergenerational mix”). Entry is free.

“I hope to create something that feels distinctly ‘Bangalow’: inclusive, relaxed, a little cheeky and fun, with a meaningful purpose underneath it.”

Bangalow Beard Fest: Beyond the Chair

Saturday 7 November, 9.30am–12.30pm

Bangalow Historical Museum, alongside the Bangalow Farmers Market

For more information or to find out how to participate, drop into Stubble and Pluck under the Yogalates building, enter via Deacon Street, or email hello@stubbleandpluck.com.au