By Michael Oliveira
At the Angle Tree Brewery, the Straight Edge Barbershop hosted a Buzz Off fundraiser where residents of the town stepped up to have their heads sheared in support of Leo Larocque.
Larocque is a 15-year-old North Attleborough student who is fighting Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer for the fourth time.
The event featured local barbers from Straight Edge Barber Shop and Zeus Barber. Studios were set up at the brewery, buzzing the heads of volunteers the afternoon of Saturday, July 20, to show their solidarity and support for Leo.
It was designed to be a family, kid, and dog-friendly event where attendees could enjoy food from various vendors, including an ice cream truck, and music provided by local DJ Bob Kay.
Kevin McCarthy who was one of the coordinators of this event and witnessed his son Zachary buzz off his hair for the cause. Zachary is a friend of Leo’s from school, and to be able to show his support for his friend was very special for both of his parents.
“This is a great cause, and the support has been incredible,” said Zachary’s mother.
Leo Strong has become a rallying cry in North Attleborough, and different fundraisers have been held for Leo since his diagnosis. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help handle the medical costs from his treatments.
The event was packed with hundreds of people, either in line to get their hair buzzed off, or at the brewery, which was filled with people inside eating lunch and playing games or listening to the music by Bob Kay.
Town Council Vice President John Simmons was at the event to support the cause and buzzed off all of his hair as well.
“I think this, like a lot of events in town, shows how we as a community pull together and really rally behind each other,” said Simmons. “I want to thank everybody involved for doing this, thank you to Angle Tree for hosting, thank you to all of our barbers, and obviously thank you to Leo and his family.”
