What started as an original idea for a book soon developed into something more — something much more. When Sammamish photographer Anne Lindsay first started reaching out to natural born redheads to see if she could shed some light on that most misunderstood of hair hues, she wasn’t expecting that she would need a football field to gather all the respondents.

But that is exactly what happened at the Skyline High School stadium, when Lindsay’s ginger models came together for what may well be the world’s first “Redheads and More Redheads Day.”

“It’s time for natural redheads to get counted,” Lindsay said, and she meant for more than just personal recognition — the gathering was an attempt on the previous Guinness World Record for redheads in one place at one time.

The target was 250. By the time Santa Claus strolled through the gates late in the morning, the green fields of Skyline provided the perfect aesthetic backdrop to 901 natural redheads, smashing the old record and providing a satisfying end to Lindsay’s auburn odyssey.

As the ginger gathering grew, the public address system played the songs of redheaded performers including Vivaldi, Willy Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Bernadette Peters, Beverly Sills, Naomi Judd, Wynonna Judd and Reba McIntyre.

During research for her book on redheads, Lindsay hoped to bust a few urban myths, such as that redheads are going extinct. Redheads were once considered witches and burned at the stake.

Red is by far the rarest of all the hair colors — only about 3 percent of the U.S. population has it.

“There are a lot of myths and folklore associated with this vibrant hue,” Lindsay said.

She ought to know — Lindsay has a husband, a daughter and a dog with red hair.

One fact that is not a myth is that red hair often comes with fair skin, and red-headed people are particularly susceptible to skin burns and sun cancers.

Lindsay will donate 50 cents from every registration at Saturday’s event to the Skin Cancer Foundation.