ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Calling singer Billy Ray Cyrus of the 1990s.
Or bleached-blonde Brian Bosworth of the late 1980s.
Allentown Fair will have a contest for you.
The fair has announced it will celebrate the famed "business in the front/party in the back" hairstyle with the first annual Mullet Contest.
"This hair-raising competition invites mullet enthusiasts of all ages to flaunt their fabulous follicles in a head-turning showdown of style, swagger and supreme strands."Allentown Fair release
"Get ready to let those locks loose," the fair said in a release. "It’s time to celebrate the most iconic hairstyle in history."
The competition will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Farmerama Theater, with radio station WZZO-FM 95.1 personalities Joel and Keith as hosts.
"This hair-raising competition invites mullet enthusiasts of all ages to flaunt their fabulous follicles in a head-turning showdown of style, swagger and supreme strands," a fair release said.
"And see who wins the coveted 'Best in Grow” award.
Categories will include Kid's Cut (ages 9 and younger),
Teen Tails (ages 10–17) and Adult Mullets (18 and older).
Contestants will be judged on "mullet quality, creativity and swagger," the release said.
Prizes will include tickets to the fair demolition derby, Allentown Fair ride wristbands and more. All participants will get a WZZO Mullet Contest T-shirt.
The Best in Grow winner will score an overnight stay in Harrisburg to take part in the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show Mullet Contest.
Memories of the mullet
For those who haven't paid attention to follicle fashion, the mullet is a hairstyle that features hair cut shorter at the front, top and sides, but longer at the back.
The name for the style arose in the early 1990s, and the rock-rap band Beastie Boys further popularized the term in its 1994 song "Mullet Head."
But the style existed far earlier: Singer David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character in the 1970s wore a prototype mullet.
There even was a 2001 documentary film, "American Mullet,"
that explored the phenomenon (spoiler: not everyone loved it, and it quickly became fodder for jokes.)
In the 2001 comedy film "Joe Dirt," title character David Spade, who is depicted as a loser, wears an exaggerated mullet.
For anyone who thinks they have what it takes to win the fair's mullet contest, registration is required at the fair's website.
Allentown Fair's 173rd anniversary year will run Aug. 27-Sept. 1.
