There will be some local manscaping of historic proportions happening at the centre stage at Cornfest this year.
Being it is the 30th year  since Terry Fox’s epic attempt to cross Canada on foot, local Terry Fox Foundation committee members were looking for something unique. Everyone has heard of the head shaves for cancer research done across the nation, but Taber will be the first with 12 brave males sacrificing hair on other parts of their body with waxings by trained professionals for the cause.
“This is the first ever waxing that we are aware of with Terry Fox fundraising across the country. We wanted to think outside the box,” said Wanda Renner, a member of the Taber Terry Fox fundraising committee. “It’s not the most manly thing to do like wearing a pink T-shirt, but I think they are amazingly brave. When all these men were asked, not one hesitated to say yes.”
“We were told at our workshop that we would be the first,” added Yvonne Dreaddy, head chairperson for the Taber Terry Fox committee. “We were the very first to have a Valentine’s dance for Terry Fox too across this country. We’re always looking for new ways to fundraise.”
Tod Pickerell, Dave Gyepesi, Mayor Ray Bryant, John MacDonald, Garrett Simmons, Kale Renner, Klark Mathers, Ed Martin, Wayne Baker, Kevin Smith, Jody Ginther and Spencer White will be sacrificing at least one strip of body hair on the body part of their choice, with pledge sheets in hand in the G-rated, family event on the main stage at Cornfest on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
“I don’t have any chest hair so I thought I’d take one for the team with my leg chair,” said Gyepesi with a chuckle. “My leg modeling career is over, so it’s perfect timing. I want to have that soft, silky smooth feeling.”
Pickerell will be going one step further and getting his chest waxed. But, he is more worried about the mental pain showing off the gun show than the physical pain as the process is being done.
“I’ve been telling people I’m more nervous being on stage with my shirt off than getting my chest waxed,” said Pickerell with a smirk.
Mandy Woodruff, Angie Meldrum, Skylar Banack, Tracy McDonald, Ellie Orsteen and Jesse Dean are the experts from various salons throughout Taber that will be donating their skills free of charge to make their subjects look mantastic.
“If you do it really fast, it doesn’t really hurt,” said Woodruff, who along with Meldrum agree some of their male clients in the past have not been so manly in their reactions the first time they get waxed. “The first time they do it they are the worst, but after that they don’t mind it so much.”
It will make for a unique spectacle that committee members hope will draw viewers and more pledges to the cause. Besides the 12 males fundraising pledge sheets, pledges will also be taken the day of the event while it is going on.
Dreaddy prides herself on the fact in her belief in fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation because of the high percentage of each pledge making it to research to find a cure.
“When people are donating their hard-earned money, it is important to know where their money is going. There is no better way to get money into the hands of people who do cancer research,” said Dreaddy, adding 87 cents of every dollar goes directly to research. “That is a lot of money and it’s going where it needs to go. If I’m pledging someone, I want to know where my dollars are going.”
The Terry Fox Foundation concentrates its efforts to keep administration costs down, with three cents per dollar going towards administration and the other 10 cents going towards advertising.
“Terry Fox was a pioneer in pledging for a cause and they have stuck to that 87 cents principle,” said Renner. “You do some research with others and it’s like 50 per cent.”