Sometimes you feel like pulling it out of your head — like when your stuck behind a computer on a powder day — but for the most part, hair is a prized possession.

It’s a dynamic part of your body, growing or receding on a regular basis, and it’s often rooted in identity.

Samson had hair that made him strong. Alexander the Great cut his hair regularly to resemble a lion’s mane. John Adams was in style with his wig’s ringlets and ribbons.
Still, it’s just hair. It’s cut and it comes back.

This Friday, you can take part in Telluride’s own hair-story at the Telluride Elks/Locks of Love Fundraiser, 6-9 p.m. at the Elks Lodge. With a handful of hair donors, partygoers can bid on pony tails as a donation to the two causes. There will also be a raffle and music by the Turkey Creek Ramblers.

“It’s a grassroots kind of thing that’s all about getting a bunch of people together, having some fun and raising some money,” Hawkeye Johnson, event organizer, says. “There are a lot of big fundraisers in town, and there are a lot of little ones like this, which I like because it’s me and a few other people saying ‘let’s do this.’”

What they’ll do is raise funds from cutting hair. The proceeds benefit the Telluride Elks Youth Scholarship program and Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Locks of Love will receive the assortment of 10-inch braids brought in on Friday, as well as part of the proceeds, which will be split between the two causes.

“I did a similar fundraiser five years ago where we stood people up on chairs and bid off the honor to cut their pony tails,” says Hawkeye, who’ll be on the chopping block this Friday. “I’ve grown my hair out since then and I’m ready for a cut.”

The previous fundraiser raised $1,300 through 14 hair cuts. This Friday, Hawkeye hopes to exceed that number.

“I have nine people from around town including Steven Norman, and some recognizable bartenders like Molly from Skier’s Union and Colin from Poachers,” he says. “People are calling here at the last second wanting to sign up, but some are having second thoughts.”

Not Hawkeye. He’s committed to the cut. Just like he committed five months and 3,000 miles to trekking the Continental Divide Trail, from Mexico to Canada, as a fundraiser for the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program. A TASP instructor himself, Hawkeye raised $17,000 from the trek, which he completed in October.

“Personally, I’m ready for a haircut,” he says. “I broke my leg about a month ago, so I’m ready for a new look, a new everything.”

And that’s what he’ll get. Not from the highest bidder who’ll win the right to cut his 10-inch pony tail, but from the hair stylists standing by from Salon 7. After each braid is snipped, hair donors will receive a cut by stylists Jesse James Martin and Rosa Lea.

“It’s a free haircut, and it goes to a good cause,” says Hawkeye. “So it’s kind of a fun thing.”

If you got the goods, that is 10 inches of braided or tied back hair, than you can be a donor.

“I have really long silver hair, which is not necessarily what kids want,” Hawkeye explains. “[Locks of Love] wouldn’t use my hair for a wig, but they could sell it to offset the manufacturing costs of making wigs for kids.”

Established in 1997, Locks of Love has provided more than 2,000 children with hairpieces. With recipients from all 50 states and Canada, the organization strives to help every financially disadvantaged child suffering from long-term hair loss. For more information, visit www.locksoflove.org.

If you don’t have the hair, or are unwilling to part with it, come take off an inch of your favorite local pony tail, and donate to the two causes.

For more information or hair donations, call Hawkeye at 369-1015.