It’s Movember, the yearly reminder that moustaches mostly make men look awful, but for a great cause. The upcoming inaugural Gentlemen’s Expo will be hosting all the greatest things that make men manly, from whiskys to suits to, yes, facial hair, and we could not be more excited! After all, who wouldn’t be floored by a weekend that ends with an attempt to gather the largest amount of people with a moustache in a single place. (Good luck beating San Francisco’s Nob Hill Adult Theatre circa the 70s!)
The Gentlemen’s Expo Movember, err, November 22nd through 24th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. That gives us gentle sirs plenty of time to grow something that looks less like a 14-year-old’s fear of a razor and something more… well… gentlemanly.
For those who require less facial hair related excuses to indulge your manliness at the end of November, here are the biggest and best reasons to be excited for all things dapper dude at the Gentlemen’s Expo…
The Food (Naturally!)
We are View the Vibe after all! TGE has some top celebrity chefs and local foodies on hand all weekend to offer advice, show off their skills, and provide some tasty dishes. The cooking stage will be packed all weekend with famous chefs demoing their trades. Licence to Grill host Rob Rainford will be demoing on Saturday, for those who want some insider tips to take their grilling to the next level.
But the modern gentleman needs to expand his culinary repertoire beyond the BBQ, and the Gentlemen’s Expo has you covered. Chef Tom Filippou will be on-hand with some simple dishes that will be sure to impress, while Iron Chef winner Chuck Hughes has a couple of surprises waiting on Sunday.
Finally, some of Toronto’s most notorious food trucks will be offering their best dishes: Hank Daddy BBQ, Cashew & Clive, Food Dudes, and Gourmet Gringos (who just opened their first brick and mortar store not too long ago) are all scheduled to attend.
The Booze (Also Naturally!)
First off, every single person who walks through the doors and into the Expo gets six complimentary drink samples, so there’s a reason in itself to go, but don’t go getting all tipsy on the Friday! Plenty of top experts on all kinds of drinks will be offering tastings, advice, and stories about wine, whiskey, and beer.
TGE has managed to snag a few people who know their way around the world of alcohol, including the first female Canadian beer sommelier, Mirella Amato, and wine connoisseurs Andrew Carleton Smith and Constantine Patiniotis. But one event we’ll surely attend is The Great Whisky Debate, which will get into all the great things about Bourbon, Scotch, and the million other kinds of Whiskys from around the world.
And what better way to put all that knowledge to good use than by making some tasty concoctions? Matt Jones will take to the stage every day for mixology lessons.
The Fashions
Straight from TGE itself: “Toss out those ratty t-shirts, stained track pants and stanky sneakers. Grandpa had 2 wars, no food, no work, polio and still dressed way better than that.” It’s true, and the Expo has plenty of opportunities to dress to impress, including fashion panels and on-site barbers. Just be sure to keep that Movember ‘stache all the way until Sunday, for a special event.
GotStyle is sponsoring the event and their matriarch, Melissa Austria, will be talking about what clothes truly make the man this year and next. Hint: Sweatpants are not, and never will be, acceptable clothing for men about town.
The Culture
Sure, there’s food, drink, and fashion, but we want to be doing something when we’re being seen in great clothes, eating great food, drinking great drinks. TGE has events and activities planned for the whole weekend, from poker tournaments to wrist shot competitions. Plus, there will be deals galore with the various vendors scheduled to be there, including a Black Friday pre-sale from Newegg.ca.
Plus, music aficionado Alan Cross, host of The Ongoing History of New Music, will take the stage Sunday with his usual little known facts about the world of music. He ranks pretty high on the people-you-just-want-to-have-a-drink-with list.
The (Gentle) Manliness
The modern gentleman is not without his vices, and the Gentlemen’s Expo has got the best tips for turning some of our favourite pastimes into statements. After all, perhaps the baser instincts – the best parts of us that have been regaled to the basements and the darkened corners of bars – are simply in need of a makeover.
To prove this, Type-D Living’s Damon Snider will be constructing not one, but three Man-tuaries; updated and presentable Man Caves for the modern gentleman, guaranteed #girlfriendly. Snider’s got great ideas on making a garage, patio, and living room that balances fashion with function and date night with game night.
Sunday will see an attempt to break the record for the largest gathering of men with moustaches in recorded history. We can’t think of anything more manly than that amount of facial hair in a single space. Except for maybe special guests Jon “Bones” Jones and UFC trainer Firas Zahabi, who will be interviewed on the main stage on Saturday.
