Annual Whoville hairdo competition sparks creativity at Carroll County Tech Center
The Whos of Whoville, in all their glitter and gold, were on display this week as students in cosmetology classes at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center again pay homage to the classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
The 12th annual Whoville Hairdo Competition was well under way Wednesday in the center’s two cosmetology classrooms, as students diligently worked on their creations.
Wendy Litchfield, one of two cosmetology teachers overseeing the competition, said there really aren’t any rules for the contest, other than the hairstyles should be holiday-related and follow the theme of the Jim Carrey movie version of the Grinch story.
Litchfield’s class has 20 students, and instructor Cori Lewis has a class of 19.
The Whoville project began 12 years ago when cosmetology teachers showed the movie to students. They turned it into a lesson, requiring students to create Whoville-inspired hairstyles.
The Whos live in the fictional town of Whoville and are the whimsical creatures created by children’s book author Theodor Seuss Geisel, popularly known as Dr. Seuss.
For the past two weeks, students have been practicing and creating Christmas-themed hairstyles using mannequin heads. The finished creations lined a long table, and were decked out in plenty of garland, tinsel, glitter and ornaments.
Students will turn in their final Whoville hairstyles Friday, with judging taking place that afternoon. Winners will be announced and awards handed out Monday. Judges include classroom teachers and staff at the Career and Technology Center.
“The judges look at the hair and how neat it is,” Litchfield said. “It’s really their personal preference of what they like.”
In the past, students have been judged on effort, creativity, thought and technique.
Junior Madi Blumberg, 16, put the finishing touches on her Whoville mannequin Wednesday. The hair was styled into a ballerina bun, adorned with snowflake ornaments. The mannequin sat on a blue mat, with cotton intended to look like snow, placed around the neck.
“I haven’t come up with a name for it yet, but it’s based on a snow queen,” Blumberg said. “The ornaments are her crown. It’s a winter wonderland.”
Nearby sat “Majestic Christmas Who,” named and created by 17-year-old Gracie Downs, who did a Google search for inspiration.
Her festive Christmas-themed hair was adorned with glitter, garland, red leaves and a gold-colored bow in the back. The bottom of the mannequin included a glittery small green box and green-colored leaves.
“This was so much fun,” Downs said. “I really liked it.”
Brinley Tozer, 17, combined the holiday song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee with a Mohawk hairstyle, naming her creation “Mohawkin around the Christmas tree.”
Tozer’s hair design was styled as a Mohawk, adorned with tinsel and small red balls. The base of the hair was covered in sparkly red.
“I like the Christmas song ‘Rockin Around the Christmas Tree,’ and I decided to do the hair like a Mohawk,” she said. “I like the detail and the red ornaments.”
While braiding the hair of her Whoville creation, Katie Diamond, 16, said, “I’m kind of free-balling it. I’ll probably make an updo with braids and bows. I’ll put something on the face, like glitter.”
Carrying her creation, Clare Tiffany, 17, said her theme was a sugary candy land. Her mannequin was adorned with pieces of colorful candy sitting on cotton. She added on lights so the entire mannequin will glow.
“It’s so much fun,” Tiffany said. “It lights up, and the snow is cotton. It’s a sugar rush.”