Movember has arrived in Toronto, and with it a ton of events designed to offer support and entertainment for the thousands of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who are raising funds for prostate cancer research and men's mental health issues. Over the years, the month-long ritual has gained in popularity around the globe, with Toronto one of the most active cities since local participation formally took hold in 2007. Here's a quick primer on what you need to know about Movember in Toronto.

What is Movember?

First started in Melbourne back in 2004, Movember is now a global fundraising effort that is pushing towards a million participants and over $125 million (CAD) in donations annually. In Canada, funds are directed toward the following groups: Prostate Cancer Canada, Awareness & Education, Global Action Plan, Canadian Male Health Network.

Movember Rules?

Here are the official rules for participation in Movember:

• Once registered, each mo bro must begin the 1st of Movember with a clean shaven face.
• For the entire month of November each mo bro must grow and groom a moustache.
• There is to be no joining of the mo to [one's] sideburns (that's considered a beard).
• There is to be no joining of the handlebars to [one's] chin (that's considered a goatee).
• Each mo bro must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.

Movember Events in Toronto

Movember Launch Party at Sazerac Lounge
Saturday November 3rd 2012 For those looking to kick Movember off with a boozy bang, the Sazerac Lounge is a good place start. I never like shaving when I'm hungover anyway, so it should be a perfect transition. DJ Adam Nics and DJ Snax will blast a variety of house, hip-hop and reggae. Tickets $10.

November Project X: 2nd Annual Movember Edition
It's a sausage fest, but in the best possible way! Make sure you swing by the WVRST on November 8th as they will be celebrating wacky mustachios with an evening filled with pork-filled goodness and 12 craft beers. Tickets are $15 at the door.

MoJam2012 at People's Chicken
MoJam2012 wants you to channel your inner rock star. Head over to People's Chicken on November 15th for the opportunity to play a song of your choice with the stage band. It's $20 per rock star moment, or $10 if you are just there to take in all the musical and mustache glory.

Movember Very Hairy Dance Party at 751 Lounge
Looking to rub whiskers with other upper lip aficiandos? 751 Lounge will be home to plenty of facial hair on November 23rd — and if you're missing Halloween by then, never fear: there's even a costume party. The $5 you pay at the door is donated to Prostate Cancer Research.

Million Mo March
Join other Mo' Bros and Mo' Sistas as they take to the streets November 25th to show off the facial hair they managed to sprout over the previous weeks. Organizers predict at least 1000 participants strutting their stuff in the downtown core. Check out the link above for more details.

Rockin'Stache at The Great Hall
If you're looking for an excuse to show off your sweet mo', Rockin'Stache is your answer. Thursday November 29th at the Great Hall a number of solid Toronto bands will play a benefit concert with proceeds going toward prostate cancer research. Acts such as Cai.ro, Grayden James and the Young Novelists, and Papermaps will take stage. Tickets are $13 in advance and $20 at the door.

Mo Parté - Mo Stache Bash at Stones Place
T.O.YOURMO has teamed up with Movember and Stones Place to put together one awesome night of mo' inspired fundraising. Dress up as your favourite furry-lipped celebrity and take part in the night's festivities. It's almost over at this point, so you need to show it off. Tickets are $20 at the door.

Movember Canada Official Gala at the Kool Haus
If you can only go to one Movember event this month, make sure it's the Official Gala. All over Canada (and the world) end-of-month galas will be in full swing on November 30th as people celebrate a hard month of growing and maintaining moustaches. As always, they'll be a costume contest for Best Mo in Character, Team Mo, Miss Movember, and Man of Movember 2012. $20 in advance.

Other events (use the find an event feature on the Movember website for more information).

• Stache 4 Cancer at Adrenaline Toronto - November 3rd
• Rockin' Mo at Andrew Richards Design - November 9th
• Big Things Give Back at The Central - November 16th
• Young Scotch Club's Movember Party at Hotel Ocho - November 21st
• Mustache Red Carpet at 5th Social Club - November 24th
• Movemberfest Dance Party at The Office Pub - November 24th
• Bottles and Mo at Local Company - November 29th
• Movember Mashup at Curzon - November 30th
• Mustache Fun at Richmond Rogue - November 30th
• Mustache-e-oke at Global Backpackers Village - November 30th

Movember groups and links worth checking out

• Young Lions Mustache Club
• U of T medicine Movember

Movember Contest

To help keep all the Mo' Bros motivated, we have a photo contest courtesy of PKG. Follow blogTO on Instagram. Upload your best moustache pics over the course of the month and tag them with #blogTOmovember.

We have two prizes packs to give away, which each include a PKG iPad Sleeve and a pair of Men's Movember TOMS Botas. The two photos with the most likes at the end of the month will receive the prizes. In the event of a tie, the winner(s) will be decided by a blogTO editor. Contest open to GTA residents only.

Writing by Brett Taggert and Derek Flack

Photo by ronnie.yip in the blogTO Flickr pool