The Pennsylvania Farm Show’s third-annual mullet contest opened Monday, drawing dozens of competitors sporting the short-front, long-back cut that has survived decades of ridicule.
At a Glance
- Contest features kids under 5, throwback styles and the Flow of Freedom Award
- Seven-year-old Ben Barley arrived two hours early wearing a custom “MULLET LIFE 6-7” T-shirt
- Event is one of the few fair contests open to non-Pennsylvanians
- Why it matters: The competition showcases a hairstyle that refuses to fade, now backed by a new generation
Sarah L. Montgomery reported that the competition, dubbed the day’s “mane” attraction, began Monday morning at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg. Categories span from toddlers to nostalgic adults, with a special nod to patriotic cuts.
Ben Barley, a first-grader from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, claimed a front-row seat well ahead of the judges. His parents accompanied him, and his T-shirt proclaimed both his name and the slogan “MULLET LIFE 6-7,” a phrase popular among his classmates. Barley told Sarah L. Montgomery he has spent the past two years growing the style.
While mullets predate modern barbershops, the Oxford English Dictionary credits the Beastie Boys for cementing the term. The group’s 1994 track “Mullet Head” on the album Ill Communication introduced the word to mainstream slang, the dictionary notes, calling it “humorous, and frequently derogatory.”
The contest remains one of the few at the Pennsylvania Farm Show that welcomes out-of-state participants, a distinction organizers hope will widen the field of follicle talent.
News Of Philadelphia carried the original report Monday.
