 |
Redhead Day (Roodharigendag in Dutch) is the name of a Dutch summer festival that takes place each last weekend of August in the city of Tilburg. The festival started in 2005 in the small city Asten, and was held from 2007 up to 2018 in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands. The three-day festival is a gathering of tens of thousands of people in the city center of Tilburg, including many thousands of people with natural red hair, from more than 80 countries. [1]
The festival is based on three core values: connection, pride, and recognition. [2] Each activity at the festival includes one or more of these values.
In 1979, Dutch public broadcaster VPRO organized a 'redhead day' in Baarn, Utrecht. Hosted by Djoeke Veeninga , it was attended by hundreds of redheads. [3]
The festival was started in 2005 unintentionally by the Dutch painter Bart Rouwenhorst in the small Dutch city of Asten. As a painter, he was inspired by artists like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Gustav Klimt. Both of these artists created dramatic portraits of women, and both artists made famous paintings depicting redheaded women.
To follow in the footsteps of his favourite painters, Rouwenhorst planned an exhibition of fifteen new paintings of redheads. Finding models was problematic, since redheads are rare in the Netherlands where only two percent of the population has natural red hair. To find models, an advertisement was placed in a local newspaper. However, instead of 15, 150 models volunteered.
Not wanting to turn down so many potential models, Rouwenhorst decided to choose 14 models, organise a group photo shoot for remaining redheads, and have a lottery to decide by chance who would be the 15th and final model. Thus began the first Redheadday.
That year, the focus was on red-haired women only, since they were asked to volunteer to pose for the paintings. At the events in later years, the aim was to attract redheaded men as well as women, but still the sexes are not equally distributed. The first meeting attracted 150 natural redheads. [4]
The second event was organised in 2007, in and around the main church of Breda. On 2 September 2007, 800 redheads including Evelien went to the city. The dress code was white. The festival was opened by the mayor of Breda, unveiling a painting of fifty redheads. The festival poster contained a picture of a redheaded model (Milanne) in a wedding dress. Redheaded children were allowed off school for a week because of this event. This holiday still continues for some schools in The Netherlands.[ citation needed ]
On 7 September 2008, about 1,500 to 2,000 redheads from 15 countries went to Breda to celebrate the third Redhead day. The programme consisted of 42 activities, including exhibitions of forty artists. The dress code was black. The programme was multi-lingual for the first time and the press coverage was worldwide. Articles appeared in newspapers from Norway to Hong Kong and Chile. In 2008 some Dutch calendars started noting the first Sunday of September as the official Redheadday, a day honouring redheads. It complements Mothers Day and Father's Day, the celebrations honouring parents.
The 2009 event took place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September. The location was again the city of Breda. On Saturday, the focus was on visitors from abroad. On Sunday, the main event took place, with the traditional group photo in the main city park of Breda. There were about 50 activities, ranging from large artistic photo shoots by artists, to workshops with children, and lectures on different aspects of red hair.
The 2010 event took place on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September. Again there were about 50 activities, ranging from large artistic photo shoots by artists, to workshops with children, and lectures on different aspects of red hair. This year however, the nature of the event was more international. Program booklets were provided in three languages (Dutch, English and German) and groups of redheads appeared with T-shirts and flags reflecting their home country, like Germany, France and Italy. This year, all hotels in the city center were booked full. The organisation estimated that 4,000 people with natural red hair came from thirty countries.
The 2011 event lasted from Friday September 2 to Sunday September 4. On Friday, an unofficial opening was held for the volunteers and some visitors from the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Ireland and the US. This year, there were more photoshoots. The organisation estimated that despite the forecast rain, the same number of visitors came to Breda, this time from over fifty countries.
Breda played host to the 7th edition of the Redhead Days from 31 August to 2 September 2012. Owing to its large global appeal this festival officially changed its name from the Dutch "Roodharigendag" to the "Redhead Days". The event started with a Kick-off party at the Mezz in Breda on Friday evening 31 August where participants were treated to an abridged version of the documentary "Being Ginger" and a performance by the band "Convoi Exceptional".
The world record for the number of redheads in one place was also broken in this year with a total of 1255 redheads standing together for 10 minutes. According to the organisation approx 4 to 5 thousand from 60 countries attended the event. The media was represented from around the world including a documentary team from Australia.
The 8th edition of the Redhead Days took place from 30 August to 1 September 2013. For the first time in this event's history the activities were partially sponsored by means of crowdfunding. For the second time the festival opened with a kick-off party at the Mezz in Breda during which the film LUIM MC1R by director Tjepke Zijlstra was shown and "Vanessa Voss and Band" performed. The documentary Being Ginger in a sold-out Chasse Theatre was shown twice during this year's event. Once again on Sunday 1 September the 2012 record of "redheads in one place" was broken. Under the watchful eye of an official Guinness Book of Records official the total number of 1,672 redheads in one place was recorded. The organisation confirmed that more than 5,000 redheads from 80 countries attended the event. Media teams from around the world also attended.
In 2015 the Redhead Days celebrated its 10th anniversary with the special theme of Vincent van Gogh, exactly 125 years since the Dutch Grand Master's death. 2015 anniversary edition took place on 4–6 September 2015 in Breda.
The 11th edition was held in Breda, and the year color was red. The group photo was made from the direction of the train station to the Valkenbergpark.
The 12th edition of the festival had as theme Global Friendship and the color was green.
The 13th edition of the festival was the last one in Breda and was sponsored by insurance company AON. Owing to rain, this edition was named the umbrella edition.[ citation needed ]
The festival organisation decided to move the festival from Breda due to long lasting irregularities in the subsidies department at the local government of Breda. According to Dutch newspapers, advice on subsidies were given by people that had a personal interest in the outcome. [5] In 2019 the local government Breda was found guilty in a lawsuit on this matter. [6] The festival organisation visited several Dutch cities to look for a suitable new city to host the festival: Amersfoort, Dordrecht, Leeuwarden, Tilburg and Utrecht. Tilburg was chosen due to location, openness to new plans, new area developments like the Spoorzone and Spoorpark, and integrity of the local government: recently the Tilburg government won a prize for its integrity. [7]
The 14th edition of the festival was the first time the festival was held in Tilburg. The color was blue and the main festival location was at the Pieter Vreedeplain. Other locations of activities were the Spoorpark (campsite), Heuvel, LocHal (lectures), and 013 (parties). Two group photos were made, the first one was in the form of a "T", honouring Tilburg.
In 2020 the event, scheduled for 30 of November, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]
In 2021 it was long unsure whether the event could take place, due to COVID-19. Therefore, the festival was named the gathering, or the 14.5 edition and lasted from Friday evening August 27 to Sunday August 29. Also, several rules from the Dutch government had to be followed to keep the visitors safe. Owing to these rules, the traditional group photo had to be done while sitting down. Although severe travel restrictions were in place, the festival welcomed redheads from five continents and the group photo depicted 240 natural redheads. The festival was sponsored by 51 Hz [9] and the local government of Tilburg. At this edition, some new activities were organized, like shared diners and a workshop model drawing. [10]
In 2022 the event celebrated its 15th anniversary. The organization created a record-breaking festival with many activities, ranging from pub-crawls to lectures, photo-shoots and workshops. For this edition, the festival campsite tripled in size. [11]
In 2023, the festival was held in the Spoorpark in cooperation with City Camping Tilburg. After last year's anniversary, the goal was to top it. Not only were there more activities (including laughter yoga, portrait drawing workshop, dance classes). But also performances by GINGE, a redhead Dutch singers and Jackie T, a world-renowned trumpeter. That Redhead Days is known far and wide is evidenced by the visit of Peet Montzingo. Peet is best known for his videos with his family on Youtube and Tiktok. He comes from a family where everyone has dwarfism except himself. In addition, he is also the only one in the family with red hair.
Tilburg is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601, it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-largest in the Netherlands.
North Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, and the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Limburg to the south. The northern border follows the Meuse westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. North Brabant had a population of about 2,626,000 as of January 2023. Major cities in North Brabant are Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda, its provincial capital 's-Hertogenbosch, and Helmond
Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive allele on chromosome 16 that produces an altered version of the MC1R protein.
Pinkpop is an annual music festival held in Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend. If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in June. Starting in 1970, at Burgemeester Damen Sportpark in the city of Geleen, Pinkpop is the oldest and longest running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world.
NAC Breda, often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisie, after winning play-offs for promotion in 2024. In their history, NAC won one national title in 1921 and won one Cup in 1973.
Breda is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has 185,072 inhabitants on 13 September 2022 and is part of the Brabantse Stedenrij; it is the ninth largest city/municipality in the country, and the third largest in North Brabant after Eindhoven and Tilburg. It is equidistant from Rotterdam and Antwerp.
The World Bodypainting Festival is a bodypainting festival and competition which is held annually in Austria, since 2017 in Klagenfurt. It is attended by artists from 50 nations and attracts many thousands of spectators.
The Dublin Irish Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held in Dublin, Ohio. It takes place during the first weekend of August, attracting over 100,000 visitors to eight entertainment stages on 29 acres (120,000 m2) in and beyond Coffman Park. Activities include Irish and other Celtic music, genealogy, food and drink, dance, cultural exhibits, games, sports, arts and crafts, and children's activities. The Dublin Irish Festival Academy offers a variety of classes led by DIF performers highlighting Irish music and culture.
The Irish Cancer Society is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer.
The Tilburg chess tournament was a series of chess tournaments held in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was established in 1977 and ran continuously through 1994 under the sponsorship of Interpolis, an insurance company. Fontys Hogescholen shortly revived the tournament series from 1996 to 1998, when the last edition was played. Since 1994, there is another annual chess tournament taking place in Tilburg, which has the name De Stukkenjagers. The field is generally much weaker than the traditional Tilburg tournament.
Breda-Prinsenbeek is a railway station in the city of Breda. It is located on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, parallel to the A16 motorway.
The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name.
Incubate was an annual multidisciplinary arts festival held every September in Tilburg, Netherlands from 2005 to 2016. It was originally named ZXZW, but changed its name in 2009 to "Incubate" after a request from the Austin, US-based festival SXSW.
Koningsdag or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April, the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is known as Koninginnedag or Queen's Day and, under Queen Beatrix until 2013, was celebrated on 30 April. She prolonged the tradition that was born under her mother’s reign: Queen Juliana’s birthday was on April 30th.
The Governors Ball Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in New York City. Launched in 2011 by Jordan Wolowitz, Tom Russell, Yoni Reisman, the festival features an array of genres and styles of music, including rock, electronic, hip-hop, indie, Americana, pop, folk, and more. It is produced by Founders Entertainment, a festival promotion company based in New York City, which also produces The Meadows Music & Arts Festival. Aside from the wide variety of music, the festival features a multitude of popular New York restaurants and food trucks, as well as activities and games.
Carnival in the Netherlands is a festival held mainly in the Southern and Eastern regions of the Netherlands with an emphasis on role-reversal and the suspension of social norms, as part of celebrations of Carnival. The feast was assimilated by the Catholic Church, taking elements from ancient pagan spring festivals and is celebrated in the three days preceding the Christian holidays of Ash Wednesday and Lent.
NGOM Fest is a music festival established in Prizren, Kosovo. The word "Ngom" is written in Gheg Albanian dialect and it means "Listen to me" whereas the word "Fest" represents the abbreviation of the word "Festival". This Festival originates from a group of young and creative people who are active in the social life of Prizren and Kosovo. The first edition of the festival was held in June 2011 and due to its major success, the activists were more committed in organizing this event. The main objectives of this festival are to promote new bands and artists, build a new perspective for music festivals in Kosovo, and to connect different ethnic groups in Kosovo and in the region.
Omroep Brabant is the Netherlands Public Broadcasting regional television and radio broadcaster in the North Brabant Province in the Netherlands. It has its headquarters in Eindhoven and also a building in Breda. It commenced broadcasting on 1 September 1976.
SEA Foundation is a Dutch non-profit, artist-led organisation in Tilburg, The Netherlands established in 2013. SEA Foundation provides residencies for artistic research, experimentation, and production out of which an ongoing public programme emerges. This programme consists of exhibitions, screenings, talks, workshops and publications. It focuses on challenging perceptions of what constitutes as contemporary art, and to bring the audience closer to the practices that motivate producing contemporary art.
Operation Pheasant, also known as the Liberation of North Brabant, was a major operation to clear German troops from the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands during the fighting on the Western Front in the Second World War. This offensive was conceived as a result of the failure of Operation Market Garden and the allied effort to capture the important port of Antwerp. It was conducted by the allied 21st Army Group between 20 October to 4 November 1944.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(September 2009) |
