Haggis producer Simon Howie is giving Burns Night a hairy twist, with a brand‑new charity campaign celebrating the bard’s iconic facial hair – Sideburns Night.
Throughout January, Simon Howie is challenging people across the UK to grow a set of sideburns in time for Burns Night on 25 January and raise money for mental health charity SAMH.
January is the brand’s busiest month, when it sells more than one million haggis. But after the high of the festive season, people can be left feeling a bit blue. Now, Simon Howie wants to shine a light on the importance of mental health and has come up with Sideburns Night to start conversations and connections, and to support SAMH’s vital work on mental health in Scotland year‑round.
The campaign is backed by a host of well‑known Scottish faces, including Zander Murray, Andy the Highlander, Ian G Black, Craig Ferguson, Gary Hollywood, Gordon Smart, Graeme Sutherland and Adam Stewart, who are helping to spread the message.
Participants are encouraged to donate £5 to SAMH and share the link with friends to encourage further donations or participation. They can also take it further by creating their own JustGiving page to collect donations from friends, family and colleagues.
To get involved in Sideburns Night, all you have to do is cultivate a pair of sideburns throughout January, share your pics, spread the word and get sponsored via JustGiving/SideBurnsNight.
Don’t worry if nature won’t let you grow sideburns – just stick on a fake pair and join in the fun.
