SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It's that time of year when road conditions begin to get a little hairy and when Yellowknifers may begin to notice some faces around town getting a little hairy, too.

Eli Purchase: runs the MovemberYK Twitter page.

That's because this is the month when people across territory take part in Movember - a worldwide mustache-growing event, meant to raise awareness of men's health issues. Movember participants are asked to be completely clean-shaven as of Nov. 1, and then spend the rest of the month growing out just their mustaches. They are also asked to raise and donate money to the Movember Foundation which funds research and public education campaigns on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.

"It's an initiative that's really important to me," said Eli Purchase, whose grandfather and uncle both suffered from prostate cancer. "It's one of those diseases that if it's caught early there's a lot you can do."

Purchase started the MovemberYK Twitter account to publicize any events taking place here.

"In Yellowknife, events depend on who steps up," he said. "It's all decentralized, so some groups may have a bake sale or different types of fundraising drives."

According to Purchase, leaving individuals and groups to design their own events - rather than having events organized by the Movember Foundation - means Yellowknifers can come up with fundraisers unique to this part of the country.

"People are incredibly generous up here and there are a lot of really passionate people who take part," he said.

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