Redheads from Orange and beyond came out of the woodwork at Wade Park on Saturday for the second Redhead Hunt4HD world record attempt.
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With the sun shining, sunscreen was applied liberally and hats and sunglasses were all the rage as funds were raised for Huntington’s NSW and The O’Brien Centre.
While the world record attempt for most redheads in one place wasn’t a success – the count wasn’t held as attendance was noticeably less than last year’s 700 and well below the 1672 needed for the record – organiser Rachael Brooking remained upbeat for one very good reason.
“It’s all for mum.”
Mrs Brooking’s mother Frances died from Huntington’s disease, and she said raising money to fight the illness would continue to be her focus and that growing the event into a legitimate world record attempt would take time.
“The Parkes Elvis Festival didn’t come together overnight, and Rome wasn’t built in a day,” she said.
“These things take time grow, you’re relying on that share button on Facebook and friends and all of the above, and we did make the Irish Post in Ireland and were seen 99,000 times.
“It’s a lovely day, it’s a lovely family day, it’s wonderful to see the community getting involved.”
Mrs Brooking said the event had paired with The O’Brien Centre for the first time this year to try to help a local organisation as well as the statewide Huntington’s charity.
Anna Taylor spared no effort in dressing up for the occasion, and said people had requested photos with her over the course of the “fun” day.
Ben Carlsson was another who dressed up and said he was a “redhead at heart”.
“If I could choose the colour of my hair, it would be red,” he said while happily sporting the vibrant ginger locks of a wig.
A charity auction and children’s rides and activities were the backbone of the day’s entertainment, with Melbourne-based duo Fin and Isla Brentwood offering up their musical stylings to entertain the crowd.
Mrs Brooking said planning was already under way for the 2019 edition of the event and she was hoping to continue to grow the festival while raising money.