The Official Report, 2026
TROY, N.Y. — The League of Extraordinary Red Heads assembled for its annual Night of the Walking Red on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, at Ryan’s Wake Public House on the Hudson River.
All event and photo booth photography by Neil Grabowsky, TTL Studios, official photographer of The League of Extraordinary Red Heads.
Reports of gingers going extinct have been widely exaggerated.
Fueling up before heading outside…
The Group Photo
Group Photo 2026.
( Purchase an official print in our online store )
As sparks flew, a lone firefighter responded to calls for a blaze. He was unable to knock down the flames. So he joined them!
Special thanks to Eric Wisher and the Troy Firefighters, IAFF Local 86, for bringing the union’s 1947 Mack pumper. The vintage truck served as the set piece for the League’s 2026 Group Photo.
The Meeting
Duncan Crary, LoERH Founder, at the mic. Agenda: 1) Us 2) Them.
A Happy Anniversary
After the group photo, the gathering moved inside for the formal meeting. LoERH Founder Duncan Crary conducted the League’s official business following the Agenda “1) Us 2) Them”.
The quorum first recognized Woody and Mary, longtime attendees, on the occasion of their 14th wedding anniversary.
“What’s it like being married to a ginger for 14 years?” Duncan asked Woody.
“Yes, dear,” Woody replied.
“He’s right,” Mary confirmed. The room gave a warm round of applause.
Woody & Mary, 14 years.
Scut Farkus: “Say Uncle!”
“It’s been a very rough month for ginger celebrities,” Crary then told the room. “But I happened to find a famous redhead who is not in the midst of a scandal right now.”
Actor Zack Ward recorded a heartfelt video message for the League.
Watch the full video on Youtube.
That ginger for the occasion was actor Zack Ward, forever known as Scut Farkus, the yellow-eyed bully of “A Christmas Story,” which will soon be running in holiday marathons on a TV near you.
In his video message, Ward addressed the assembly as “beautiful, fantastic, perfect unicorns of people.” He said he had dreamed of something like this ever since he read Sherlock Holmes’ The Red-Headed League as a kid and floated the idea of a West Coast chapter.
As it turns out, the famous bully was the one who got beat up. Ward said he attended eight different schools before junior high, making him “a new kid eight times named Zack with red hair.” Of course there were nicknames: Carrot Top, Pumpkin Head, etc.
“Being a redhead is always being the underdog,” Ward said. “Thank you for including me. I am honored. It makes me so happy to know that this is happening and I get to be part of it in some small way.”
Crary confirmed that he has been in contact with Ward, and that a Hollywood chapter of the League is being explored.
The house is entertained.
Conan O’Brien, Are You Here Tonight?
Duncan Crary unveils the Conan attendance tracker featuring Neil Grabowsky’s Dec. 20, 2025 portrait of the famous ginger pompadour.
Duncan next brought Official LoERH photographer Neil Grabowsky into the spotlight to brief the room on the Conan O’Brien situation.
Last December, Neil took Conan’s portrait during “An Evening With Conan O’Brien and Stephen Colbert,” a fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival* where he also serves as official photographer.
During a quick portrait session in a smaller private room, Grabowsky presented Conan with a League Member card and gave the traditional welcome. According to Neil, Conan asked “Is this for real?” To which Colbert vouched: “Oh yeah, it’s for real. They meet every October in upstate New York.”
So the League not only “carded” Conan O’Brien, but it was also with a secondary celebrity endorsement.
At this year’s meeting, Duncan unveiled a large poster featuring Neil’s portrait of Conan with a six-year attendance tracker beneath it. “Conan O’Brien, are you here tonight?” Murmuring.
“Yeah right,” exclaimed One Doubting Thomas in the crowd (no doubt this was from a member of the Cheez Doodle Orangie caste—most likely Jimmy).
Duncan uncapped a Sharpie and marked 2026: “ABSENT” to great laughter.
“We’re going to do this until he shows up,” Crary said, encouraging people to post photos and tag @TeamCoco — but be funny not annoying about it, please.
(* It’s worth noting that our friends at the Montclair Film Festival connected the LoERH to Rick Astley for his 2022 induction into our Red Head Hall of Fame. )
Duncan Crary marks Conan O’Brien ABSENT for his first meeting since being carded into the League.
Them:
Exhibit A: John Mead, the unRed
“Serving gingers is an occupational hazard.”
Moving on to agenda item “2) Them,” Crary presented Exhibit A: John Mead, an unRed bartender at Ryan’s Wake.
“How many years have you been serving the League…?” Crary asked.
“Ten years today, sir,” John said.
In previous years, John has attempted to curry favor from the LoERH by dyeing his hair with henna; this year he used bleach.
“I noticed you didn’t dye your eyebrows,” Crary observed.
“I was too afraid to,” John admitted.
Asked about his history of working the “Night of the Walking Red,” Mead was matter-of-fact: “Serving gingers is an occupational hazard.”
Duncan formally inducted John with the League’s “Member(ish)” card for those who were not assigned ginger at birth, in thanks for his decade of service.
It says Member(ish)
The Toast
The meeting concluded with the annual toast. Glasses were raised.
“Bring out your red. Here’s to being ginger. Cheers!”
Note: this is the only Night of the Walking Red 2026 photograph of Jimmy, seen off the left shoulder of Corey and in front of Anasha.
The Next Generation
Riley is away at school and couldn’t make it this year, but The Knotts still found a way to get her into their family photo!
Great to see Melissa back in attendance after a few years.
These extraordinary women have a PERFECT attendance record! That’s Michelle, Bonnie, Traci, and Kristen.
The Random Red
Introducing Rowan, The 2026 Random Red.
Every year, a “Random Red” wanders into Ryan’s Wake during Night of the Walking Red with no idea that scores of gingers have already taken the place over. This year it was Rowan.
Astonishingly, she had never heard of the League. When reports of a Random Red sighting reached Duncan, he promptly arrived to card her with the traditional welcome: “There are no dues to join this League, because you already paid them growing up.”
The Hall of Gingers
Every year, to demonstrate its might, the LoERH hangs its previous year’s group photos and the display is impressive.
Some Event Photos
Doing Gingers justice.
Colin Butler and his uncle Anthony Gagliardi. Colin has grown quite tall!
Sarah, Elaine and David brought out their red.
His given name is James but he goes by Ginger Geezus.
There are even more extraordinary event photos that were just too many to include in this report here. But you can view them all by clicking the button below.
The Photo Booth
The photo booth burned bright for the night.
The Ginger Behind the Camera
Neil Grabowsky, TTL Studios, is the official photographer of The League of Extraordinary Red Heads.
LoERH Swag
Shop the LoERH Store for shirts, hoodies, hats and more. Ordering gifts for the holidays? Place your order soon to allow time for delivery. If you live locally, you can also choose in-store pickup.
