Photo by Tanaha Simon
As the snow-threatening, ear-numbing winds of December sweep over our lonely campus, it seems appropriate to look back on what made November great and why we will miss it. First and foremost, Thanksgiving: that tryptophan-filled day of parade floats, football and food. Following that is Black Friday, when we can either laugh at the fools who partake in 3AM shopping sales or join in on the fun. Of course, the most popular November association, at least for the male demographic of this campus, has to be the growing of mustaches. At Conn, Mustache November (or Movember, as it is affectionately referred) culminates in the Mustache Dinner, a Knowlton tradition filled with gentlemanly attire and feasting with friends before the semester comes to an end.
This year, Emile Premmereur ’11 took over organizing duties, setting the date for the dinner and inviting alumni who had participated in the past. When I met with him in Cro on December 1, his face was warm with a scruffy black beard, which in three days’ time would be trimmed into a neat, film noirish mustache.
“The Mustache Dinner is an annual event where men and women grow their mustaches and we all go to dinner together in Harris dressed as fancily as possible for the evening,” said Premmereur. “In terms of the actual process, we usually meet in Knowlton lobby – that’s where people reveal their Mustaches.”
The Mustache Dinner is fairly young, founded in 2003 by members of the class of 2005. “A lot of people just forgot to shave that year,” explained Premmereur, “and they decided they were going to shave their beards into mustaches and go eat dinner together.” While the original meal was a fun expression of laziness, it has since evolved into a formal event. After a two-year hiatus, Jack Lichten ’10 brought the Dinner back in 2008, and it has been held ever since.
I encountered the participants milling around Knowlton lobby around 5PM. They had planned on heading to Harris earlier, but the Festivus Feast pushed Harris’s opening time back an hour. At least thirty people attended the Mustache Dinner this year, most of them Knowlton residents, past and present. Alumni Lichten, Charles van Rees and Gordie Hall, all members of last year’s graduating class, traveled back to Conn for the event. Boys and girls were decked out fancy suits, ties and, of course, mustaches.
Lindsay Woodville ’12 was dressed in old-man attire, including sweater-vest, white pipe, a bushy black mustache and a penchant for wandering away from groups. Max Novak ’13 wore a bowler hat and had shaved his mustache into a “Chester A. Arthur,” with his sideburns creeping down his jaw and jumping to under his nose. I quickly ran to the bathroom, applied my grease-paint mustache and joined the fray.
After a group photo shoot on Knowlton’s grand staircase, the mustachioed men and women headed towards Harris and claimed three long tables by the napkin note bulletin board. This year’s Mustache Dinner coincided with Festivus, which Premmereur worried would “change the perception” of the event. “Usually it’s held on a day where everyone dresses normally and they see a bunch of really well-dressed people with mustaches go to Harris. This year, since it’s Festivus, some people might think, ‘Oh, they’re just dressed early,’ or something.” However, Premmereur came prepared with a plan: “We’re going to emphasize our mustaches much more.”
The Festivus Feast menu and decorations also emphasized the courtliness of the Mustache Dinner, the placemats and holly branches giving the meal an air of importance and regality.
One person was noticeably absent during the Mustache Dinner: President Higdon. “I wasn’t there, but there was an event two weeks ago in Knowlton,” explained Premmereur. “From what I hear, Lindsay Woodville talked to him and told him that there was a Mustache Dinner. He asked if he could be invited… so I emailed him a formal invitation. I don’t even know if he has a mustache, but I let him know that it is a necessity.” Sadly, President Higdon couldn’t make the event, as he wasn’t guaranteed back in town in time for it, but his knowledge of the Mustache Dinner suggests that he may be a future attendee.
While everyone was finishing their meals, Premmereur stood between the tables and addressed the crowd. After a light smattering of applause, he said, rather sadly, “As you all know, I won’t be here next year to organize the Mustache Dinner. So, Lindsay, if you will…” The crowd cheered as Woodville stood and accepted the request.
After the attendees had returned to their meals and private discussions, van Rees turned to his table and announced that he had counted at least seven passing Harris diners mouthing the phrase “What the hell is going on?”
After the dinner ended, many mustachioed members headed off to celebrate Festivus with other, facial hair-less friends, but most headed back to Knowlton for some more fun. The mustaches remained, at least for the night. “Some people keep [their mustaches],” said Premmereur. “Some people have had mustaches since forever and decided to come along because they have one, but most people just shave it off afterwards. Especially the ones, like me, who have been growing it for a while specifically for that purpose and want nothing but just to shave it off.”
The Mustache Dinner is over and many faces are newly bare, exposed to the cold air they had previously been protected from. As the weather grows more frightful, some men may decide to grow their mustaches back in, while the ladies will have to resort to their iParty knockoffs. In these trying times leading up to exams, it is comforting to know that a group of men and women can get together in the spirit of food, friends and mustaches. •
