Seeing red
Gathering of redheads attracts Islanders to Summerside
At just 10 months old, Lily Cannon of Cornwall doesn’t know it yet, but she’s very lucky. She’s a redhead.
Only between one and two per cent of the human race has red hair — which means little Lily won a genetic lottery right from the start.
Lily and her grandmother, fellow redhead Marilyn Waugh of North Bedeque, joined even more red hair lottery winners in Summerside Friday evening, attending the first P.E.I. Redhead Gathering.
It’s a fun idea, said Waugh, who was happy to be able to bring her granddaughter with
“From my experience in going to the international festival, it was an opportunity to bond with other redheads and compare stories about growing up as a redhead. We only started 10 minutes ago and that’s already happened tonight, which is neat.” Peggy Miles
her to participate.
“It’s great, just something different,” she said.
There was a photo booth set up with fun slogans on chalk boards and other signs, a documentary about Redhead Days (the world’s largest gathering of redheads) and, because the event was held at Samuel’s Coffee House, redand ginger-themed drinks to be had.
Everyone was encouraged to chat with someone they didn’t know and share their experiences of being a redhead.
Organizers hoped for a few dozen people in attendance, and there was a steady stream coming through the door as the event got underway.
Peggy Miles was one of the organizers and is, of course, a redhead.
She got the idea after attending Redhead Days, which is held in The Netherlands, last year.
“From my experience in going to the international festival, it was an opportunity to bond with other redheads and compare stories about growing up as a redhead. We only started 10 minutes ago and that’s already happened tonight, which is neat.”
Miles said she hopes to build a community of redheaded Islanders and planned to collect email and contact information from the 35 people who attended Friday’s event. If there is enough interest she hopes to hold more events for P.E.I. redheads in the future.