HAY SPRINGS, Neb. -- During the Hay Springs Friendly Festival, the small Sandhills town more than doubles in size.

“This is by far the biggest event that we have all year,” Greg Yanker said.

From live music to vendors and bounce houses, the festival offers a little something for everyone. This year also bought a new, hair-raising twist -- a mullet competition.

“I like my hair. Mullets are making a comeback,” said contestant Tripp Buettner.

“There’s like six of us on the football team,” said contestant Talan Smith.

“The only thing I don’t like about it is having to take care of it. I have to use soap and conditioner and comb it a lot. I put some product in it too that we got from my barber,” said contestant Kyler Kelly.

While some of the contestants are fresh to the business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back style, others have been rocking their mullets for months.

“I’ve had it for about a year,” said contestant Ayden Young.

“I tried a mullet once before, but it didn’t work out. I tried it again just for the mullet contest. I decided just to keep it,” Kelly said.

It’s not only the contestants who had to do some work preparing for the competition, but also the emcee.

“I did a little bit of research looking up the history of the mullet and some of the good mullets of the past,” said emcee Greg Yanker.

Yanker said he was most surprised by the mullet’s roots in history.

“It actually goes back all the way to the Roman era,” Yanker said.

As for the overall winner of the follicle fest, the prize went to Jace Scherbarth.

“My hair is not even. I don’t know if that makes it better,” Scherbarth said.

But whether perfectly even or delightfully uneven, these guys believe they’re all winners on the hot day. After all, the mullet offers the perfect combo—shielding your neck from the sun while keeping sweaty strands out of your face.

“It needs to come back in style I believe,” Smith said.

“I just like the hairstyle,” Young said.