Redhead Day 2010

To follow the footsteps of his favourite painters, Rouwenhorst planned an exhibition of 15 new paintings of redheads. Finding models was problematic, since redheads are rare in the Netherlands, only 2% of the population had natural red hair. To find models, a advertisement was placed in a local newspaper. However, instead of 15, 150 models volunteered. Not wanting to turn down so many potential models, Bart 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. This happening turned out to be the first redheadday. This 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. Most attendees wore green clothing by request.
At the time, the event competed for publicity in the local newspapers in Asten with a local pumpkin contest. However, the Dutch national press made the event headline news. The mayor of Asten remarked later that the event led to the first ever front-page publicity about the city of Asten in the national press.
The second event was organised in 2007 Breda, in and around the main church of Breda. On September 2, 2007, 800 redheads went to the city. The dress code was white. The festival was opened by the major of Breda, unveiling a painting of 50 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 school in The Netherlands.