For years, the words “redhead festival” and “Ireland” went together. Every August, the seaside village of Crosshaven in County Cork turned into a sea of ginger as thousands of redheads gathered for the Irish Redhead Convention. It was a genuine Cork institution: founded in 2010 by local siblings Denis and Joleen Cronin, family-friendly, gloriously silly, and a serious fundraiser that raised more than €30,000 for the Irish Cancer Society over its run.

Here is the part most search results bury: the Crosshaven convention is currently on hold, with no confirmed 2026 date. So this guide does two things. First, the honest status of the Irish event and how to plan if you are still hoping to catch it. Then the redhead festivals that are definitely running in 2026 — starting with the world’s biggest in Tilburg — and the exact logistics to reach them.

The Irish Redhead Convention in Crosshaven, Cork

Crosshaven sits at the mouth of Cork Harbour, about 20 km south of Cork City — a small sailing village of harbour views and pubs that, for one August weekend a year, became the global capital of red hair. Ireland has the highest concentration of redheads on earth, around 10% of the population, which made Cork a fitting home for the gathering.

The convention mixed daft competition with real purpose. Highlights included carrot-tossing championships, the crowning of the King and Queen of the Redheads, a redhead parade, ginger speed-dating, and the “Red Shearin'” sheep-shearing demonstration. Running through all of it was a sun-safety message: redheads carry MC1R gene variants linked to fair skin and higher melanoma risk, and the event partnered with the Irish Cancer Society every year.

Is the Irish Redhead Convention happening in 2026?

Not at present. The organisers have publicly stated that the Crosshaven convention is on hold for the foreseeable future, and there is no confirmed 2026 weekend. If you are set on the Irish version, treat it as a “watch and be ready” trip rather than a fixed booking.

The practical approach: build a flexible Cork-based trip with free-cancellation lodging, keep a late-August weekend loosely open, and watch the official Redhead Convention channels for any revival announcement. Cork rewards the visit regardless, with the English Market, Cobh, Kinsale and the harbour villages all within easy reach.

Where redheads gather now: Redhead Days, Tilburg

With Ireland paused, the undisputed home of the global redhead festival is Redhead Days in the Netherlands. It is the oldest and by far the largest, drawing tens of thousands of people, including redheads from more than 80 countries, for one weekend each August.

It began almost by accident. In 2005, the painter Bart Rouwenhorst advertised for 15 red-haired models in the small town of Asten and 150 turned up, so he photographed them all. The gathering ran in Breda from 2007 to 2018, then moved to Tilburg in 2019 to handle its own growth, and Tilburg has hosted it ever since. Across its run it has set Guinness World Records for the most redheads in a single photo.

Redhead Days 2026: dates, location and the burgundy photo

What happens over the weekend

The programme is broad and most of it is free. Friday opens with a kick-off party (one of the few ticketed events). Saturday is the full festival day: photoshoots, workshops, lectures on red-hair genetics and skin health, live music, a fashion show, kids’ activities, and the Redhead Days Village market of specialist hair and skin-care stalls, with a pub crawl through Tilburg’s bars in the evening. Sunday builds to the mass group photo, the festival’s signature moment, reserved for natural redheads and shot from above.

Other notable redhead festivals around the world

Tilburg’s success has seeded a global circuit of redhead gatherings. None matches its scale, and several run irregularly, but if the Netherlands does not suit your calendar these are the ones worth tracking down:

There are also fixed awareness dates rather than festivals: National Love Your Red Hair Day (5 November), World Redhead Day (26 May) and the tongue-in-cheek Kiss a Ginger Day (12 January). Because the smaller events change format, pause and return, always confirm the date, venue and organiser from a current official source before booking around them. For a 2026 trip you can plan with confidence, Tilburg remains the safe bet.

How to get to Tilburg

Tilburg sits in the south of the Netherlands and is easy to reach by train once you land. The only real decision is which airport you fly into.

Where to stay

This is the single most important piece of planning. Tilburg is a mid-sized city and its central hotels sell out for festival weekend months ahead — six to nine months is the standard advice. Book early with a free-cancellation rate and you keep your options open.

Your choices: central hotels within walking distance of the grounds (book first, go fast), the official Redhead Days campsite in the Spoorpark for the full community atmosphere, or a base in nearby Eindhoven or ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a short train hop in.

Money, connectivity and sun safety

The Netherlands uses the euro and is close to cashless — cards and phones are accepted nearly everywhere, though a few festival stalls and the drink-token booths may prefer contactless. The only fee worth dodging is your home bank’s foreign-transaction charge, which a travel card removes.

What to pack

Redhead festival FAQ

Official resources

This guide contains affiliate links. If you book through them, EpicLayover may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it helps keep our journey-planning tools free. Festival dates, programmes and entry rules can change; confirm current details with the official organisers and transport providers before you travel.