Posted on 05/30/2010 5:51:27 AM PDT by KevinDavis
Hundreds of blonde Latvian women have been marching through the capital Riga to try to bolster the national spirit in time of recession.
Most of the participants dressed in pink and wore high heels.
The blonde parade began last year and was planned as a one-off but it is back by popular demand and is now a two-day festival.
Latvia has been hit badly by recession. Its economy shrank by 18% in 2009 and it has Europe's highest unemployment. 'Proud to be blonde'
The BBC's Damien McGuinness, who attended the festival, says that this might not be everyone's idea of female emancipation but if the aim was to bring a smile to recession-weary Latvians, the idea certainly worked.
He says there are parties, concerts and a Marilyn Monroe lookalike competition.
Money collected from the event will go to Latvian charities.
Marika Gederte, president of the Latvian Association of Blondes, told the BBC the idea came out of the economic gloom.
"I was so tired, you know, every day opening the computer and reading the newspapers and just reading about problems. We decided... let's do something nice. And I asked myself the question: what can I do for my country? And this is what I did... We are very proud to be blonde."
Next year, our correspondent says, Riga's blonde ambitions are even bigger, with a blonde carnival planned - like Rio, just a little bit blonder
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
pictures
Never had a reason to visit Latvia... until now.
Wow! Sounds like FUN!!!
We need more pics! I wonder what the lass in the pink hat is drinking?
Looks like fun too!!
nice landing gear
They would absolutely life spirits during a recession...or outside a recession!
How do we know they are true blondes?
It’s an energy drink...sorry I forgot the name of it. They sell it here in Norway.
Being a natural blonde...I think this is refreshing! Most of the time all we hear are studpid blonde jokes and “I love your hair” statements from jealous non-blondes.
We could do something like this in the US, but we’d be shut down by all the various non-blonde groups, the ACLU, NAACP, LULAC...
Check them for dark roots, leg, arm or underarm hair. A a surefire non-offensive way of telling! Most real blondes have blonde eyebrows, but darken them with makeup.
Also the National Organization of Lesbian Women..
As a true blonde, I can relate. I went brunette in recent years - it does seem to make a difference in terms of getting people to take me more seriously. That’s a sad commentary.
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