Champions of facial hair fashion

While pulling into Mills Park to see how the carnival folks were faring in Wednesday's windstorm, I saw Phil Olsen, organizer of the World Beard and Mustache Championships. He had been taking care of loose ends at the community center, where the international competition will take place Saturday night.

Olsen was in San Francisco Wednesday morning welcoming 84 Germans, who are coming up for the event. About 65 of them are competitors, he said. A day before, he was in Las Vegas greeting the Swiss and Italian teams, who are now Carson City bound.

If you want to get a look at these beards in advance of the event or welcome the Europeans to town, there is a party being held in their honor at the Pinon Plaza tonight.

"The public is welcome," Olsen said.

Most of the bearded ones should be at the Red's Halloween party on Friday night.

In a recent development, Olsen said the top three finishers at the WBMC -which is being held in the United States for the first time - will be flown to Los Angeles for an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." The episode will air Monday. The championship will be in the community center Saturday after the Nevada Day parade and beard competition on the Capitol Steps. The Europeans are expected to compete in that competition, too. Won't it be strange if Germany wins the award for the "most bearded community" this year?

Unfortunately, one of the champions from the last WBMC, Germany's Willie Chevalier, had to have his beard shaven after an accident. He will not be attending.

Olsen is getting tons of interest from the international press. Wednesday press calls came from England, Canada and Italy. On Tuesday, someone called from Tasmania.

It's interesting to see Mayor Ray Masayko's welcome-to-Carson statement in the WBMC program translated into German.

"Wir sind sehr stolz auf unsere Stadt," he writes: "We are very proud of our city."

The WBMC competitors will be featured in the Nevada Day parade. The event at the community center starts at 2 p.m. Buy tickets at the door.

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Progressive Western folk singer-song-writer Brenn Hill will play at the Brewery Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

The recently married 27-year-old says he sings about regular cowboy life.

"I'm just a regular guy trying to find my way in the world, and that gives me a lot of stuff to write about," he said by phone from his home in Hooper, Utah.

"The themes are about today and the future," he said. "And some of those themes are a little bit controversial. If I can portray those themes in a way that stirs emotion among the listener then maybe I can influence the listener to take a second look at the direction we're heading. Some of us are fighting globalization, for instance. It may be inevitable, but there are just certain things that we shouldn't leave behind as our society grows. I think all people are concerned about it whether they realize it or not."

Hill has traveled lately from southern Florida to northern Alberta, but he's scheduled a special stop in Carson City.

"I love that area," he said. "I've played in Virginia City, and I love the Brewery Arts Center. I love Carson City. It's cowboy country."

Hill's solo performance starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 general admission or $12 BAC members and seniors. For more information, call 883-1976 or go to www.breweryarts.org/archive/hill03.html.

Karl Horeis is a general assignment reporter for the Nevada Appeal. He can be reached at 881-1219.