LOCAL men will continue on in the tradition of ‘Shave A Hillbilly” when the Wombat Hotel Social Club will host a big beard shave at the Wombat Hotel on December 4 to raise much needed funding for epilepsy awareness, treatment and support for those people suffering the condition.

The group started two years ago when a few local men decided to grow beards, get sponsorship and publicly shave them off, with the proceeds going to Epilepsy Action Australia.

The night was organised in the memory of a Wombat local who had passed away from an epilepsy related incident and was a huge success, with people in the audience spontaneously volunteering their beards and/or hair to be shaved during the evening to raise a total of $2700.

Event organiser, Mat Bloore said this year’s event promises to be even bigger and definitely better with many more participants and much older beards.

“In particular, John Holmes has a beard that we’re fairly sure he was born with!” said Mr Bloor.

“Well, that’s the very strong rumour anyway and when you see something like that come off then you know it’s something special.

“Last time was a fantastic night with great energy and an all over feeling that everybody was making a real difference.

“What we are about is awareness and fellowship, having a good laugh and a good time are right up there as well and if that can be done while watching your mate auction his eyebrows off – well all the better!

“But don’t think it’s all about shaving either – last time, Jon Bailey made the mistake of telling everyone how much he was looking forward to having his beard shaved off, so we did a quick whip around and raised a fair sum of money to have him leave it on for another fortnight – priceless!” said Mr Bloor.

The Wombat Hotel Social Club is extending an invitation to everyone to attend on the night.

“It should be a good night of entertainment, there’ll be a sausage sizzle and lots of laughs,” said Mr Bloore.

“You can bid on a beard if you like, make a donation or just come out for a good time and the more people we can get there the better,” Mr Bloore said.