7 August 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
It’s just two weeks away!
The Irish Redhead Convention is a whacky, gingerloving celebration of everything to do with red hair and will take place from 21 23 August this year. Every summer for the past six years the small coastal village of Crosshaven in Co Cork has turned into a glorious sea of ginger, as thousands of redheads gather from all corners of the globe for this unique Irish festival of fiery hair, freckles and frolics.
Carrottossing, ginger speeddating, freckle counting, group photoshoots, a redhead parade, cinema screenings, certificates of genuine foxiness and the coronation of the Redhead King and Queen are just some of the colourful events that take place. Highlights of this year’s Convention include a seminar by author Jackie Collis Harvey, author of ‘RED: a complete history of the natural redhead’, whose book will
be launched in Ireland just in time for the festivities; a panel discussion with successful redheads in business including Tristan Rogers, publisher of international redhead art magazine MC1R and Emma KellyCampbell, blogger at Ginger Parrot and the campaign manager behind the quest to include ginger emojis in Apple’s iPhone release.
Central to the Convention is the Foxygen music stage, reserved just for gingers. Among the redhead performers are Ginger Nutz, a trad band made up entirely of natural redheads from the West of Ireland; gingerfronted West Cork band The Baby Cheeses and a passionate group of local women, Crosshaven Ukuladies. The redheadline act for the weekend is much loved and highly acclaimed, Irish jazz and
blues singer Mary Coughlan. The onsite Redhead cinema will include short movie screenings all about red hair, including the US comedic web series Redheads Anonymous and award winning, Irish language short, Rubaí.
Don’t forget to bring the family along! The Convention is a family friendly event catering to all ages. Kids can enjoy the Kids Zone, CarrotTossing, Scavenger Hunt and the Gingerbread Man Party, among so many others. Among the long list of activities to be enjoyed at the Convention there’s also much to be won! Other than the most coveted titles of King and Queen of the Redheads, Best Red Dog, Best Red Beard and Best Red Family are just some of the 19 titles up for grabs.
The Convention, which began is a friendly joke between proud redheaded siblings Joleen and Denis Cronin, is also a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society with 20% of ticket fees, as well as other fundraising activities, such as an outdoor yoga session being donated to the national charity for cancer care, research and support in Ireland. So slap on lots of sunscreen, stay in the shade and protect fair redhead skin
from sun damage this Summer.
Red hair is the rarest of hair colours and accounts for just 0.6% of the global population. Ireland has the second highest per capita population of redheads at 10%, next only to Scotland at 13%. The United States is believed to have less than 2% of redheads. So get to the Irish Redhead Convention and meet your fellow rare red gems.
For the full programme of events and to redgister for your ticket visit redheadconvention.ie
