Attending Festivals Is Always An Experience But These 34 Offer A Different Definition Of Fun

Every year, grown adults, primarily men, congregate in a village in England around the end of May to pursue a rolling nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a steep slope. Because of the steepness and unevenness of the hill and the size and speed of the cheese itself, several people have suffered severe injuries throughout the years. As a result, the cheese spectacle lost its "official" management and organizers in 2010. However, because the locals are so proud of their longstanding tradition, the ritual still goes ahead each year, though spontaneously and without any supervision. 

Although having the appearance of an adult Halloween parade, it's a festivity that aims to drive away evil spirits rather than summon them. People dress up in animal skins and furs, wear frightful masks, and jump while wearing enormous bells fastened around their waists. The Kukeri creatures are said to be so repulsive that any actual monster would flee shrieking! The Surva Festival, the largest Kukeri celebration of the year, is held in Pernik, 30 miles from Sofia. Thousands of people travel there from every region of Bulgaria to attend the three-day festival, which takes place annually at either the end of January or the beginning of February. 

Usually held in July, the spectacular Guisachan Gathering, or Golden Retriever Festival, celebrates, you guessed it, golden retrievers. The well-attended event occurs in Guisachan, the Scottish Highlands manor where the original golden retrievers were bred. A picnic with authentic Scottish fare, group training sessions, and, of course, a dog show are just a few of the events and activities that make up the Guisachan Gathering. Yet, the festival's primary attraction is the Championship Show, where hundreds of canines compete for awards. Honestly, it's not even that weird!

The International Hair Freezing Contest is a fun winter event that takes place every February in the Takhini Hot Pools in Canada's arctic Yukon region. Contestants submerge their heads in the pools' hot water, then shape their hair while it freezes in the cold air above to create frosty hairdos. During the competition, local temperatures may drop as low as -30° Celsius or -22° Fahrenheit. Brrr!

And although the exact origins of this tradition are rather murky, each tale has some connection to stealing. And we kid you not; since 1992, this contest is still going strong today! Participants can carry their (or their neighbors') wives in either piggyback, fireman's carry, or Estonian style. And the prize? The wife's weight in beer. The lady is happy, and you get the beer — it doesn't get better than this.

Carving giant radishes into scenes that compete for awards is the focus of the annual Night of the Radishes festivity in Oaxaca, Mexico, which takes place on December 23. This event has produced exceptional radish carvings, from nativity scenes to perfect reproductions of famous paintings. If you want to witness it, as well as see the parades and street dances, stay in Mexico through Christmas. It's odd, but it's also funny and super delightful.

Every year between January and March, Scotland hosts the Up-Helly Aa fire festival to commemorate the conclusion of the Christmas season. There is a galley, a replica of a Viking longship, and a very long torch procession of torchbearer squads dressed in themed costumes known as guizers, headed by the main guizer or Jarl. Each squad picks a theme and dresses appropriately. There are many different subjects, some of which are satirical, others of which are historical. The festival began in 1880 and has been drawing tens of thousands of residents and visitors to the Shetlands to honor their rich heritage.

The annual Bog Snorkeling Championship has been held in the smallest town in Wales ever since 1985. Armed only with snorkels and flippers, participants must swim two consecutive lengths relying only on their flippers to propel them through a 60-yard water trench dug through a peat bog. Even if you don't feel like taking the plunge, it's a fun day out since there are food and drink vendors, crafts, a bouncy castle, live music, and a real ale and cider bar on the site.

Since 1996, Oulu, Finland, has hosted the Air Guitar World Championship as a part of the Oulu Music Video Festival. What was once intended as a joke gained tremendous appeal. Contestants must perform two rounds of air guitar on stage, each lasting at least one minute. They must play just air guitar—no drums, piano, or other instruments are allowed. The idea behind the competition is that if everyone in the world played the Air Guitar, wars, climate change, and all other negative things would stop occurring. To put it simply, the purpose of this extravaganza is to promote world peace.

In addition to the Mud Festival, South Korea also hosts a Water Gun Festival. One of the most popular summertime events there, the Water Gun Festival, offers each participant a unique experience. To both escape and relish the summer heat, visitors may engage in water battles, musical performances, street dancing, and other fun activities that showcase original artworks and regional attractions.

18 lines, some 300 feet (!) long, competitions, movies, and workshops in acro yoga are all part of the annual International Highline Meeting Festival, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Aside from the fact that the mountaineering enthusiasts spend a significant portion of their days (and nights) in hammocks suspended hundreds of feet above the Italian dolomite Alps, the gathering has all the props of a typical festival, including a kitchen, a bar, and musical jam sessions. Hundreds of daring individuals who enjoy mountains and the adrenaline rush of being extremely high up come to this festival from all over the world. Would you? Guess it's weird for those who like to play it safe!

This is a buffet FOR monkeys, so immediately quit wondering what a monkey would taste like! Around 2,000–3,000 monkeys in the Lopburi Province, located north of Bangkok, are given a feast of 4,000 kg of fruits, vegetables, cakes, and candies every November. Then, after the monkeys have been given their treats, youths dressed as monkeys perform dances. The festival started in 1989, organized by a local businessman who devised this idea to boost Lopburi tourism. Lucky for him and especially the monkeys, the plan worked out.

It is a mess, but it's a delightful one! On the last Wednesday in August each year, for just one hour, between 10 and 11 am, participants of this festival throw tomatoes at one another. During this period, around 150,000 tomatoes are used. Over the years, the festival has grown to be a top tourist destination in Europe.

Since the 18th century, Hungarians have celebrated the Busó Festival with local men wearing scary-looking masks to ward off winter. Can they spook off winter with their costumes, though? Locals believed they did. And considering that so many cultures have similar traditions to scare winter away, so will we. The event features Busós (the costumed men) and involves dancing, folk music, parades, and dressing up. Six days long, Busójárás (“Busó-walking”) typically occurs in February. Also, a fun fact, the Busójárás of Mohács is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List!

In Finland, the Uusimaa province hosts the yearly outdoor festivity called Kaljakellunta, or "Beer Floating." Thousands of people participate in the Kaljakellunta festival, which involves floating down the Kerava/Vantaa river while drinking beer in various types of inflatable dinghies and self-built rafts. Its name also comes from this; in Finnish, "Kalja" means beer, and "Kellunta" means floating. Because there is no official organizer, there is also no official date or floating route for Kaljakellunta. However, the annual event has traditionally been held on the final weekend in July or the first weekend in August.

Large clay jugs filled with water are flung from the balconies of residences in the heart of town and smash into pieces while thousands of spectators watch. The sound of the pots falling is truly tremendous. This bizarre ancient tradition, known as the "botides," is observed by Corfiots on Holy Saturday and draws spectators from all across the country and overseas. Daring spectators may stand relatively near the crash sites, getting hit by the spray of water and shards of clay. Local organizers said that no one has ever been badly hurt during the rite. According to islanders, the custom is believed to help fend off evil spirits, and witnesses may bring bits of the shattered pots home for good luck.

At a baptismal ceremony known as the Baby Jumping Festival, infants born during the previous year are "cleansed of their sins." In this religious custom, first practiced in the early 1600s, men in traditional "devilish" costumes jump over the infants carefully laid out on the street to drive away evil. According to the locals, the only injuries reported in the festival's history were Colachos ("devils" or the men jumping) pulling hamstrings.

Las Fallas, one of the most well-known Spanish events, is a 5-day street fiesta with impressive fireworks and light shows that concludes with practically everything being set on fire. Thousands of guests watch hundreds of giant sculptures constructed of wood, cardboard, plaster, and paper mache set ablaze and burn brightly. The festival's beginnings may be traced back to the Middle Ages when carpenters would burn pieces of wood used to prop up their lights over the winter as a way of welcoming spring. Due to the addition of rags and old clothing, the bonfires eventually took on the appearance of puppets (ninots). A falla is then made up of ninots that have been arranged to create a scene. These scenes are often satirical and political, frequently featuring current figures like politicians and celebrities.

Although the World Toe Wrestling Championships are held in different locations, the contest originated in the Staffordshire village of Wetton in the 1970s. It stemmed from the desire for the UK to host a national championship in some type of sport. Guess toe wrestling was a viable option! Similar to arm wrestling, each match sets two opponents against one other. Also, before the match, participants must undergo a thorough toe checkup by a licensed nurse. No toe-ing around here!

Located 200 kilometers south of Seoul, this fun celebration, which first occurred in 1998, now takes place every July. The festival was first conceived as a marketing event for Boryeong Mud Cosmetics, as the mud from the Boryeong mud flats is claimed to be rich in natural minerals. However, the two-week promotional event was highly liked by locals and tourists; hence, the festivity was there to stay. A mud pool, mud slides, a mud prison, and mud skiing are some unique activities that can be done at the mud festival.

Since 1947, every Ivrea Carnival, one of Italy's oldest festivals, has concluded with the Battle of the Oranges. Sunday through Shrive Tuesday are the three days when the battle takes place. In this battle, the nine teams of Aranceri (orange-throwers) on foot, who symbolize the uprising, compete against the Aranceri in horse-drawn carriages representing the feudal forces. Still, the battle combines zeal and unity: you might frequently see rivals shake hands, express admiration for one another, and compliment each other on their daring and expertise.

When seeing the Disney movie as a child, millions of young girls fantasized about being Ariel, but few did much more than put the doll on their Christmas list. Yet it's evident that mermaids have considerably more appeal for some people. Every year, North Carolina hosts Merfest, a festival dedicated to all things "mer." At the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, North Carolina, mermaids and mermen from all over the nation assemble to learn the art of mermaiding.

At least once in their life, everyone should visit the Burning Man festival in Nevada, which has taken place every year since 1986. "Radical inclusivity" is Burning Man's central theme, distinguishing it from other festivals. It brings out the best and craziest in people to participate in an 80,000-person pop-up village in a harsh and formidable desert environment where there is nothing to buy, and nothing can be left behind.

One of the most impressive yet risky and unusual Easter festivities is this one. The Greek word for "rocket war" is "rouketopolemos," and it refers to this annual Easter celebration on the island of Chios. In this strange rite, which has been going on since the Ottoman Empire, thousands of handmade rockets are fired at each other's tower bells by the two churches situated 400 meters apart on opposing hillsides. Due to complaints from nearby homeowners, the event was canceled in 2016, but it was reinstated the following year with a cap on the number of rockets launched. To avoid the vast destruction it formerly caused, the participants and the police came to an arrangement to keep up this ancient custom but on a much lower scale.

A battle has seethed for 200 years at Ibi, Alicante, Spain. However, not with weapons like swords or guns but with weapons like wheat and eggs. One of the world's most unusual food fights, Els Enfarinats, also known as the Flour Battle Festival, is a local holiday observed on December 28 each year. This is Spain's equivalent of April 1. On what is also known as "The Day of the Innocence," people dress up in ancient, imitation military costumes and act out a coup d'état. Never turn your back during the battle of "Enfarinats." Or do, because the money collected from those who break the "laws" is donated to charity.

Historically, participants of this time-honored Chinese event raced up a tower of buns to grab the top bun, which they hoped would bring them good fortune. And although the Bun Festival was initially held to celebrate the end of the plague, it has now evolved into one of the most well-known celebrations of Hong Kong's cultural heritage. At today's festivities, the centerpieces of the event are 60-foot bamboo towers covered in buns, which are scaled by trained men. Kwok Kam Kee, the event's official bun manufacturer, produces more than 60,000 buns specifically for the bun festival.

Pigs are the central focus of this yearly celebration in Trie Sur Baise. A whole event is devoted to showcasing how the French value pink meat! The main draw of the event is, you guessed it, pigs and all the pig-related activities. Visitors can participate in pig impersonation competitions, piglet races, black pudding-eating competitions, and other antics involving pigs. There is nothing better for pig lovers than this festival. For everyone else — what an odd cause to celebrate!

Considering that we found pretty much zero information regarding this event from 2014 onwards, we believe this festivity, inspired by the Hot Tub Cinema in London, was only held in Amsterdam once in 2014. The Machine Building on the Westergasterrein had two movie theaters with 21 hot tubs, 21,000 liters of water, and 150 bathrobes. One could reserve a hot tub and benefit from waiter service, a complimentary bottle of cava, and your own bathrobe. Also, a DJ played music during the bathrobe afterparty that followed the movie.

Every summer, Tarazona, a town in Spain, celebrates a custom known as the Cipotegato. Every August 27 at noon, dressed as a harlequin, the Cipotegato, the star of Tarazona's festival, races around the town through the masses of people. They throw tomatoes at him and then at each other, turning the event into a tomato tussle. The Cipotegato is the only one aware of the path, although it always begins and ends in Plaza de Espana. After crossing the finish line, he is hoisted onto a monument in his honor amid shouts of "Cipote, cipote!" and ties a scarf to the top to signal the beginning of Tarazona's main fiestas. The fiesta lasts until September 1 and features outdoor dances, bullfighting, musical parades, a foam bath, and folk dances.

Who doesn’t enjoy the idea of launching a giant fish as far as possible? Perhaps someone with ichthyophobia. Nevertheless, that’s the idea behind Tunarama, which was first created to promote the local fishing sector yet evolved into something much bigger. You can participate in tug-of-war, beauty contests, and talent shows. Also, you should stick around for the fish parade and the youngsters wearing penguin costumes!

The Underwater Music Festival has been held for over 30 years on the only remaining coral barrier reef in the United States, the Florida Keys. A local radio station funds the event to encourage ethical diving and environmental sustainability. They play their sea-themed music underwater using speakers hanging under boats positioned over the reef. Participants are urged to don costumes and play "underwater instruments" to win rewards.

The Spanish Tomato Festival and this one are strikingly similar. But with one exception. In this one, they utilize cow poo instead of tomatoes. That’s right. In the Kairuppala village, it has been customary to split into teams during the Ugadi celebrations and throw cow dung cakes at one another. What makes it even weirder is the number of people willing to participate! Some of us might find the entire celebration a bit too much, but it’s an important occasion for the Hindus in this area!

From 1996 through 2012, a series of competitions known as the Redneck Games were conducted yearly in East Dublin, Georgia, in the United States. It was estimated that around 500 individuals were attending the Redneck Games. Toilet seat throwing, seed spitting, armpit serenades, mud pit belly flops, cigarette flips, dumpster diving, and many more odd activities would take place there. Apparently, The Redneck Games were canceled due to declining revenue and attendance.

If you are an adrenaline seeker, take part in the Running of the Bulls Festival and experience a unique cultural event that involves being pursued by bulls. And follow the dress code: an all-white outfit, a red scarf (pañuelico), and a red waistband!