The UK’s first ever Ginger Pride walk will take place in Edinburgh city center today, led by the ginger and proud Shawn Hitchins. Redheads across the country will assemble from 11AM outside the Balmoral Hotel and walk en mass in the name of Ginger awareness. This inaugural event in Scotland’s capital city is a light-hearted and fun way to stand up against ginger prejudice (‘Gingerism’) and foster a global message that shows the uniqueness of all those red, orange and pale.
The march, which continues from Balmoral Hotel towards the Royal Mile before terminating at the George Albert Bridge, will be led by Canadian comedian Shawn Hitchins who has traveled across the pond to perform his show ‘Ginger Nation’, that pokes fun of his
ginger identity, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Hitchins commented, “Internationally, red hair is tied to the identity of Scotland and should be cause for celebration. I made a promise that if I ever returned to the festival, I would attempt to organize an event like this. It’s totally tongue-in-cheek, but in light of the recent attention to bullying and gingerism we can send a message to all that says, It Gets Redder.”
Although the Ginger Pride march is specifically aimed to support anyone with a tinge-of-ginge, people of all hair colours are welcome to show their support. Hitchins commented, “The Edinburgh council definitely has a good sense of humor and I’m extremely happy with the response, it’s struck a chord. This is the first year and we’re starting small and if all goes well I would love for this event to become an annual celebration in one of my favorite cities.”
For those unable to make the march on Saturday Hitchins will be spreading the message of Ginger Pride August 3-24 at Dram House
during the run of his show ‘Ginger Nation’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,
For up to date information about the march, please visit jointhegingernation.com, or follow Shawn on twitter on @ShawnHitchins.
