Hair farmers from across the state descended on Kurri over the weekend to flaunt their luscious locks in the first heat of an expanded Mulletfest 2021.
142 contestants hit the Chelmsford Hotel, along with a throng of revellers for the three-day celebration of the iconic “do”, and in the end, Josh Hogg, aka the Mediocre Mulletman, proved to be the highest-scoring finalist, taking out the Everyday Mullet category.
Travelling a whopping 600 metres to attend the event, Josh impressed the judges with his stage presence, his costume choice and, of course, the condition of his mullet.
“It was absolutely wonderful,” Mulletfest director Laura Johnson told Newcastle Live. “It was such a great crowd over the three days and it was just so much fun.
“When all is said and done, everyone came together for a great family-friendly weekend and for a great cause; to raise money for the Mark Hughes Foundation to help them continue their amazing work into brain cancer research, treatment and care.”
While it’s obvious that mullet pride was the real winner of the weekend, Laura admitted that her highlight was seeing the juniors strutting their mulleted melons on the outdoor stage.
“The kids are always a favourite and this year they were just beautiful – so sweet and so funny. Our little 0-3 winner [Barry Bower] was just hysterical. He jumped up on the stage by himself, he danced, he shook, he flicked his mullet, he was awesome.”
While traditionally the entirety of Mulletfest was held at the ‘Chelly’ things are a little different this year, with the popular festival hitting the road, taking the hirsute hilarity to regional Australia.
“After such a great event here over the weekend, we’re now really excited to get out there and share the laughs and the fun with everyone,” Laura said.
“Having a bit of fun is something that we could all use right now – it’s definitely a good time not to take things too seriously.”
Mulletfest 2021 Kurri Kurri Heat Winners
Everyday winner – Josh Hogg
Matt Forster Memorial Rookie Winner – Megan Farquhar
Vintage Winner – Peter Geddes
Grubby Winner – Trent Wright
Ranga Winner – Chase Abernethy
Extreme Winner – Shaun Webb
People Choice Winner – Zabe Atkinson
0 to 3 winner – Barry Bower
4 to 7 winner – Dean Singh
8 to 13 winner – Oliver Eaton
14 to 17 winner – Jake Porteus
