Dozens of Montrealers assembled on Mount Royal Saturday to celebrate the natural glory of their red hair.
Beehives, bouffants, bobs and buns – all styles were welcome on the condition that the strands were coloured one of the 50-or-so shades of natural red.
The event offered the genetic minority a rare chance to be part of a majority, as under two per cent of the world’s population has the recessive gene on chromosome 16 that causes the mutation in the MC1R protein – or in other words, red hair.
Some estimates suggest that Quebec has one of the higher proportions of red-haired residents, as up to four per cent sprout glorious red and the shade has also long been known to be a more popular hair dye option in the province than elsewhere in Canada.
Some felt a little disoriented finally being part of a majority.
“It's a little strange to see so many like-haired individuals, in fact I feel completely uninteresting right now in this sea of orange,” said one of the reds in attendance.
Those with red pride haven’t always been helped along by onlookers, who sometimes give them nicknames based on their ginger manes.
“I guess the most common is 'Carrot Top' but of course the witty remark to that is carrot tops are actually green,” one laughingly told CTV Montreal.
Some confessed to being favoured for their shade.
“My principal, I was his favourite because I was the only redhead, so St. Paddy's day was effectively my day,” said another.
Organizer Celine Dompierre promised more such events to come.
“This year it's just to meet each other and the mountain has turned orange,” she said.
Audrey Bisson, a 25-year-old Montrealer, said the event felt a little like the "revenge of the redheads."
"It's actually pretty cool, everybody talking about their different stories when they were young getting made fun of," said Bisson, who wears her red hair in a bob.
"We connect in the way that we all got teased when we were younger."
In recent years, that teasing has taken a more serious turn.
Some redheads have been the target of "Kick a Ginger Day," an annual event inspired by an episode of the animated television show, South Park.
Marilyn Lamonde, a 17-year-old from just outside Montreal, said she made a few friends her age who share her hair colour.
"It's really cool," Lamonde said.
"People used to make fun of us, and now we're here and proud of being redheads and we can be here and point at them and say, 'hey, you're not a red head."'
Joseph Baron, 31, said it felt strange to be in a place where his red hair and pale skin doesn't stand out.
"I find it's a little surreal seeing so many gingers congregating in one spot outside of, say, Ireland," he said.
Baron said that he, too, struggled at times with being a redhead, but that he's come to embrace it.
"I actually had a brief period when I was younger when I tried to rebel against my genes and die my hair blue. It was not successful," he said.
"I've never tried it again, I've learned to accept and enjoy the hair I was born with."
-With a file from The Canadian Press
