De Vere's Irish Pub held its inaugural St. Baldrick's event Monday, raising more than $81,000 for cancer research, $10,000 of which came from De Vere's.

The pub's roped-off sidewalk was packed with spectators trying to get a glimpse of local participants shaving their locks to conquer kids' cancer. De Vere's had 221 shavees lined up for their turn to get snipped.

Publicly displayed on the patio, shavees winced when they felt the cold steel clippers reach deep down to the scalp. The participants' reactions caused perpetual laughter, since there was a four-barber-rotation, and each head took only a minute to shave.

The crowd stirred when Shawn Eldredge, a City Council candidate for District 3, stepped up and removed his two-foot-long surfer-style hair. After the shocking transformation, many audience members turned to each other and commented, "I think he looks pretty good."

Other well-known Sacramentans included Chief Executive Steve Hammond of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, restaurant owner Patrick Mulvaney and The Sacramento Press' own Sonny Mayugba. The shavees all seemed to have a sense of humor, and possibly a couple pints, to manage the onlooking crowd and media.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation has 621 events scheduled this year. Robyn Raphael, CEO and founder of the Keaton Raphael Memorial, was responsible for the events downtown and in the Roseville Galleria Mall, which produced almost 400 Shavees in only four hours and raised $96,000.

In memory of her son, Robyn Raphael created the Keaton Raphael Memorial and has so far raised more than $1 million to finding a cure for cancer. Raphael first met the three founders of the St. Balrdrick's Foundation in Washington, D.C., where they were being honored for their accomplishments. After the event, she spoke with the St. Baldrick's founders and discovered that the foundation was born out of a bet during a round of golf. In 2000, three Irish insurance executives wagered they could raise $17,000 for charity by the 17th of March, or else they would shave their heads.

More than $100,000 was raised, but the three shaved their heads anyways and started the St. Baldrick's Foundation that has thus far raised more than $74 million. Raphael was challenged to raise $30,000 or shave her head. A contract was even created on a nearby cocktail napkin, which Raphael signed and still has today.

2010 marked Raphael's first year hosting the St. Baldrick's Event in Sacramento and the eighth year in Roseville. In 2003, she shaved her head, and for two years straight had to explain why her hair was so short -- ; what Raphael called a "kind of awareness you can't buy."

For more information on upcoming events and foundations, check out Keaton Raphael Memorial at www.childcancer.org and The St. Baldrick's Foundation at www.stbaldricks.org

Photos by Tia Gemmell

Riverview Media Photography

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