Ginga love lingers in hugathon

Some may have found the term "ginga" derogatory, but Rotorua redheads showed up in their droves to celebrate Hug-a-Ginga Day.
Redheads across the country were celebrated with warm hugs and giveaways as part of the The Edge radio station Hug-a-Ginga Day.
About 20 Edge stations were set up around New Zealand and Edge roadrunners Eddie Young and Lu Parker were at the Rotorua Farmers store to celebrate the unorthodox day.
There were free hugs on offer along with L&P drinks, Red Bull energy shots (which they renamed "ginga bull" in celebration of the day) and also ginger slice.
Mr Young, who sports a crop of red hair, said they had an awesome response from locals with more than 80 people passing through.
"There's been a lot of genuine redheads who have turned up to show their support," he said.
A lot of students had came through before school and people on their way to work.
"We had some people come through with "it's ok to hug me" signs. It's been great. We've had no negative responses," he said.
It's the third year the day has been held and Mr Young said yesterday was the biggest response by far.
"People have fully embraced it, they've been very, very proud," he said.
Miss Parker, who donned a red wig for the occasion, said while some people might have found it offensive, the day was not meant in a negative way.
"I can see both sides of it, but it's just a bit of a laugh," she said.
Local redhead Kaz Khan-Barnett was one of many who turned up for a hug.
"I'm proud of it. I don't see anything bad about it at all," he said.
The 19-year-old said he thought it was "just another day under our belts".
"It's all in good fun."
Fellow redhead Ben Lealand was also not bothered by the concept. "I've never had any issues with it."
Mr Lealand said he had heard about a Christchurch man, a father of two redheads, expressing his outrage over The Edge's promotion and said the man shouldn't have been offended.
"Redheads can speak for themselves and they shouldn't be offended because at the end of the day it's all in good fun."
REDHEAD FACTS
* Red hair is caused by a relatively rare recessive gene, the expression of which can skip generations.
* The gene for red hair was discovered in the late 1990s.
* Approximately 1 per cent to 2 per cent of the human population has red hair.
* Red hair is the rarest natural hair colour in humans.
* Queen Elizabeth I of England was a redhead, and during the Elizabethan era in England, red hair was fashionable for women.
* Each year thousands of redheads from more than 20 countries flock to Breda in the Netherlands to celebrate "Redheadday". The two-day festival is a gathering of people with natural red hair, but is also focused on art related to the colour red.