The blonde in the bath was carried through the parade in downtown Riga by her dutiful male servants. Photo by Lars Magnes.

RIGA — This weekend marked Riga’s second annual Go Blonde Parade, and the fair-haired young women of Latvia were out in force.

“People admire, envy, and make jokes about us, but nobody remains indifferent! Why?” wonders Olga Uskova, one of the founders of the Latvian Association of Blondes.

Well, it is certainly a good distraction from the economic crisis, which is the festival’s initial purpose. It’s also made headlines worldwide promoting the beauty and blondness of Latvian women.

“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,” Marika Ģederte, president of the Latvian Association of Blondes told the BBC Saturday.

The weather worked perfectly, as sunny as the mood, and hundreds gathered in Old Town to see Saturday’s parade.

On Friday there was a Retro Blonde beauty competition at Riga’s Motor Museum. Baltic Reports photojournalist Delmi Álvarez was at both events capturing every blonde moment.