These guys are committed to their craft, and it's awesome!

Rochester's biggest summer event, Thursday's on First & 3rd kicked off last night and everyone was there to enjoy all the music, the food and drinks, and the 100+ vendors from Downtown Rochester and southeastern Minnesota. The first one is always the biggest, and reports of people swarming First Avenue as early as 10 a.m. (the event starts at 11) just foaming at the mouth to get in aren't that far-fetched!

But when I finally arrived later in the afternoon, I began seeing all the different people and faces that were there to enjoy the official kickoff to summer in Rochester - emphasis on faces here because I wanted to highlight something I'm extremely envious of = Men with epic beards.

I'll admit it, I'm jealous. There have been many, many times throughout my life where I've tried growing a decent beard but alas it's not in the cards (or genes) for me. Sure, I can cover the basics and grow something the resembles one, but for the most part my beard is pretty patchy and would probably be sent to the kiddie table if I were to try and sit with these big boys.

That's why I wanted to highlight the 11 Best Beards we found from last nights Thursday's on First, along with their measure of greatness:

Don't fear the beard ladies: Embrace it. In the meantime, I'll keep "working" on mine.

In case you missed last nights party, don't worry because they'll do it all over again next week - and every Thursday through August 30th! (Weather permitting) It goes from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. To learn more about ToF and to see the entire band lineup you can like them on Facebook, or their website HERE.

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