The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is hosting its annual Redhead Days Festival — or “Ginger Fest” — this weekend, drawing thousands of red-haired attendees from across the globe to celebrate their unique hair color.
The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival spans three days and features music performances, food trucks, and specialized workshops. These include sessions focused on redhead-specific topics such as makeup techniques and skin cancer prevention.
Organizers expect several thousand participants from approximately 80 countries to attend this year’s festival which continues to grow in popularity since its inception two decades ago.
Elounda Bakker, 29, a long-time attendee from the Netherlands, reflected on the community aspect of the event. “I came out of curiosity mostly, just to see what it would be like not to stand out in the crowd,” she said. “It was really an interesting first experience and I just keep coming because I met some really nice friends here.”
German magician Daniel Hank traveled six hours to be part of the festivities. Once bullied for his red hair, Hank now embraces the distinctive feature. “There are not many guys with long red hair or a red beard. It makes me easy to recognize,” he said.
The event is free and open to the public, though a group photo session on Sunday is reserved exclusively for natural redheads. A previous edition of the festival, in 2013, earned a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of natural redheads, with 1,672 participants.
The origin of the festival dates back to 2005, when Dutch artist Bart Rouwenhorst placed a newspaper ad seeking 15 red-haired models for an art project. Overwhelmed by the response, he organized a photo shoot with a much larger group and continued the event in subsequent years.
“The festival is really amazing because all the people, they resemble each other and they feel like it’s a family,” Rouwenhorst said.