Global Men’s Health Awareness Movember Event Brought to Main Street by Honey & Hops

At 10:20 a.m. on Saturday, November 2, one hundred forty-five people had signed up to run the “mead mile,” a mile-long race in a loop on Main Street followed by festivities, all the above hosted by a Main Street business, Honey & Hops Brew Works, in honor of Movember. Movember is a month-long global event raising awareness for men’s health, specifically mental health and cancer. The Rushing brothers, Ian, Isaac, and Adam, who started Honey & Hops in 2020, felt the calling to bring Movember to downtown Front Royal. Participants shave their beards, leaving just a moustache, and thereby turn no shave November on its head. All proceeds from the sale of mead during the festivities after the race have gone to support the Movember organization.

Sam Hank plays folk music at Movember, a month-long global event that found its way to Front Royal, raising awareness for men’s health. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

This is the first time Honey & Hops has hosted the event. The name Movember comes from the Australian-English word for mustache, “mo,” and “November.” The Movember Foundation funds research and support programs for men’s health issues like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. This awareness is personal to the Rushing brothers as their father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022. Since 2003, the Movember Foundation has funded over 1,300 projects and raised almost $350 million. As Isaac Rushing points out, most men are unlikely to talk about their health struggles, and an event like this one is the perfect opportunity to draw them out. He was very pleased with the turnout and felt the event went smoothly with the participation of food trucks, other vendors, and ongoing music at the Gazebo until 6 p.m. Ever since their first year of business the Rushing brothers have regularly donated to the Movember Foundation. The mead race itself was open to men and women, and prizes were given for placement in the first three categories for both categories.

Isaac Rushing, one of three brothers who started Honey & Hops Brew Works on Main Street in 2020, is outfitted in honor of Movember, a month-long global event raising awareness for men’s health.

The Rushings are committed to excellence. Currently offering a robust variety of flavors of mead, a brew composed of honey, water, and yeast, Honey & Hops, to quote their mission statement on their website, strives “to offer the highest quality locally sourced products, served in a casual environment with the guests experience and pleasure being paramount to all. Supporting our staff with knowledge through training and experience, we hope to make everyone’s visit a visit worth recommending and repeating. A family focused environment, that maintains cleanliness while we deliver the highest quality mead possible and continually push the boundaries of possibility. The driving force behind establishing the Honey & Hops Brew Works brand is a vision of quality delivered with our personality.”

Ian Rushing, seated, and Jake Fries, standing, assist patrons of the Movember event in purchasing tickets to enjoy mead served at a booth for Honey & Hops.