A crowd of people came through the doors of the Hangar Pub & Grill shortly after opening at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Boisterous, bass-heavy covers of Guns ‘N Roses and the Beatles played from the front of the restaurant, performed by local Hadley band West Summit. A sea of bright green T-shirts surrounded the bar area, as locks of hair fell to the ground in the front foyer. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the restaurant, offering prizes from gift cards to authentic New England Patriots seats at Gillette Stadium.

Attendees were there in support of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for childhood cancer research as the University of Massachusetts Police Department and Alpha Delta Phi fraternity held its seventh annual Amherst fundraiser and head shaving event.

After six successful years at Rafter’s Sport’s Bar, raising a total of $425,000, Sergeant Matt Malo, one of the lead organizers for the event, said the organizations decided to move over to the newly expanded Hangar Pub & Grill across the street.

“People go out, raise money and get their heads shaved in solidarity for kids who are losing their hair because of treatment so they don’t feel weird, they don’t feel different and they realize that it’s okay,” Malo explained.

Tim Willis of Northampton served as the event’s host and emcee.

“I lost my dad to cancer two years ago,” said Willis, “and it’s one of those things that everyone is touched by. Life is a really good gift and I surely believe in giving back.”

Volunteer barbers from Matt’s Barber Shop in downtown Amherst helped shave over 150 heads, including local Peter Cowles.

Four years ago, Cowles began auctioning off the potential color of his bare head to the highest bidder for the fundraiser. Last year, his entire freshly buzzed head was stained with bright pink hues. This year, one of his former classmates donated $200 and requested that he shave the school’s varsity letter onto the back of his head.

“St. Baldrick’s is second to the U.S. government for raising money for childhood cancer research,” said Malo. “We raise all of this money, from head shaving, the raffles and everything else, and every last penny goes back to St. Baldrick’s. They then send all of it back out to any research facility trying to find a cure for childhood cancer, not only in the United States, but worldwide.”

At press time, Randy Pollis, a UMass sophomore and member of Alpha Delta Phi, said the event had raised close to $70,000.

Hannah Tran-Trinh can be reached at [email protected].