Jim Pattison Jr. Shaves His Beard for Charity at IAAPA Expo 2021
![Pam Landwirth, Johnathan Lee Iverson, and Jim Pattison Jr.](/sites/default/files/styles/default_embedded_media_900/public/images/RE-Hoss-5.png?itok=Is77x5Xd)
Things got pretty “hair raising” on Friday at IAAPA Expo when Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ripley Entertainment and vice chair of the IAAPA Board of Directors, got a shave on stage. But why?
The answer is simple: charity. At the beginning of the pandemic, Pattison told his team he wouldn’t shave his beard until all of Ripley’s attractions were reopened worldwide. After successfully reopening all but two locations, Pattison knew there was no better time or place to fulfill his promise than IAAPA Expo 2021.
Ripley’s “Shave the Beard and Make it Weird!” campaign was born, supporting Give Kids The World Village, a whimsical nonprofit resort in Central Florida that provides critically ill children and their families with weeklong vacations at no cost. The campaign was meant to drive people to donate their locks to Hoss the Hairball, Ripley’s contender for the Guinness World Record largest ball of human hair. Hoss came to the Give Kids The World booth at IAAPA Expo, and attendees were able to have their own haircuts in support of the cause. Each strand and dollar donated went toward raising awareness and funds for the Village.
![Steve Warden and Hoss the Hairball](/sites/default/files/styles/default_embedded_media_900/public/images/RE-Hoss-2.png?itok=hBtdC3lW)
For the final day of IAAPA Expo, Pattison gathered an audience at Booth #3040 on the trade show floor to have his beard ceremoniously cut with a pair of giant scissors by Hoss’s original creator, stylist Steve Warden, before receiving a full shave on the stage. Showman and host Johnathan Lee Iverson led the event and was accompanied by two performing acts. The Edge Effect, a five-man a cappella group, kicked off the show with a lively barbershop style rendition of “Come Together” by The Beatles.
Then, with “The Final Countdown” playing in the background and cheers from the audience, Pattison thrust his whiskers into the air in a closed fist before handing them over to Warden who bent down to add them to Hoss in the form of a goatee. While Pattison sat back to receive the rest of his shave, Warden spoke to the crowd and then aerialist Erin Blaire dazzled the crowd with her hair suspension routine, performing poses in the air while being hoisted only by her hair.
![Erin Blaire aerialist](/sites/default/files/styles/default_embedded_media_900/public/images/RE-Hoss-3.png?itok=3Pyq9VtB)
Later, Pamela Landwirth, president and CEO of Give Kids The World, took to the stage to share a heartwarming story about the nonprofit and thank IAAPA, as well as the Village’s other supporters.
“When people call and say they have a great fundraising idea, they usually are, but when Jim Pattison calls and tells you, ‘Hey, can you come over to my office? I have an idea I want to talk to you about.’ You know it’s going to be a little out there,” Landwirth said. “But I have to tell you, it has been amazing. It has brought more people to our booth, more awareness, more contributions. It’s just been absolutely amazing.”
The event concluded with a newly clean-shaven Pattison presenting a check for $30,112 to Landwirth for the Village, with the added promise of more to come. Since Hoss had yet to break the Guinness World Record, Pattison announced the extension of the campaign into December and a partnership with Floyd’s 99 Barbershop of Florida.
“Every haircut at a Floyd’s shop until Dec. 10 will be added to Hoss,” Pattison announced. “Because when we say we’re going to break the record, we are going to break the record.”
- To learn more about Ripley’s “Shave the Beard and Make it Weird!” campaign or donate to Give Kids The World, visit Ripleys.com/Hoss.