So you’re just back from St. Paddy’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, or Carnivale festivals? BIG DEAL! That’s nothing to brag about. The Joneses have all been and we’ve already sat through their slideshows. But tomato throwing, baby jumping, cheese chasing ... Next time you plan a vacation, plan for some bizarre festival fun and get some bragging rights to go with your slideshow.
La Tomatina, Tomato Fight Festival (Bunyol, Spain)
Every year, thousands of Spaniards—along with thousands of enthusiastic and inebriated backpacking tourists—gather in Bunyol, Spain for La Tomatina, the tomato fight festival. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the last Wednesday of August, chaotic hoards gather in this small, provincial town to throw, smash, dive into, and hurl tomatoes—lots and lots of tomatoes—leaving everyone, and everything, immersed in a red, gooey pulp.
Kanama Matsuri, Fertility Festival (Kawasaki, Japan)
Most Japanese festivals involve smoking grills of yakitori, traditional drum players, and happy children licking brightly colored shaved ice smothered in condensed milk. During the Kanama Matsuri festival, huge pink members are paraded down the street, and the lollipops are penis-shaped, as are the hotdogs and everything else. This phallic festival dates back to centuries ago when prostitutes prayed for protection against syphilis. Today, thousands of hopefuls ask for blessings against STDs or blessings for those hoping to have children. It’s one of Japan’s most popular festivals and phallic food makes for very interesting photos!
El Colacho, The Baby-Jumping Festival (Castrillo De Murcia, Spain)
In this bizarre annual event in Spain, grown men dress up as the Devil (or the Devil doing a bad Elvis impersonation) and jump over cute, helpless little baby sinners. The El Colacho baby-jumping festival has been a tradition since 1620—not because there was nothing better to do, but to dispel evil and cleanse newborn babies of original sin. Nice picture for baby’s first photo album …
