Dancing. Cheesy pick up lines. Guys in suits and sportswear. Mr. FHN, sponsored by StuCo, comes to the FHN auditorium on April 15 at 6 p.m. Mr. FHN is, above all, a charity event, where each of the participating students work to raise money for their selected charities. All grade levels are welcome to participate in Mr. FHN, but typically upperclassmen make up the majority of contenders.

“I like the idea of raising money for the charities that you believe in,” junior Nic Savala said. “It’s just a fun thing to do outside of school.”

The judges for Mr. FHN are selected from faculty members and sit up front during the show. They write the questions for the competitors to answer on stage and keep ballots for each of the sections, which include question and answer, formal wear, athletic/club wear and talent exhibition. After each portion, they score the guys based on their performances and pass them to a StuCo member, who keeps a running tally.

“There are all kinds of talents in Mr. FHN,” StuCo sponsor Jani Wilkens said. “Sometimes we have musicians or stand up comedians. One year we had a ribbon dancer, which was great. We also had a guy drinking syrup as his talent, which was bizarre. We tend to discourage food-related talents because they’re honestly usually pretty gross, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen.”

The amount of money each contestant raises is also factored into the final score. According to Wilkens, last year competitors were encouraged to donate to the American Cancer Society if they could not decide so all of the money could be lumped into one big donation and be more impactful. Other charities have included Operation Smile, Challenger Baseball and the Lymphoma Society. Last year, Mr. FHN raised a total of $2,976 for the various charities, with winner Greg Portilla contributing $420. Donations are also collected from the audience during the show.

“A lot of guys donate to charities they really care about because a friend or family member is a survivor or has gone through something,” StuCo sponsor Shelly Parks said. “It’s always really cool to see the guys raise money toward a cause they’re invested in.”

Preparation for Mr. FHN begins nearly six weeks in advance. At practices, the students work on the dance to open the show and determine/practice their chosen talents. They start off meeting once a week, but as the show draws closer, practices are more frequent.

“Honestly, my favorite thing is not the show itself, though the show is great,” Parks said. “I love all of the prep work because of how nice and funny all of the guys are. They help each other learn to dance, which is always hilarious, and they’re so encouraging and entertaining. It’s so fun, and I feel like they’re always just the nicest guys.”