I haven’t been to many international festivals. It’s something I’m pretty ashamed of and am trying hard to rectify this year. Here, my friends at Travelex explain a few of the wackier ones – including one that’s on my list: La Tomatina in Spain!
As soon as the sun starts to peep from behind the clouds, many of you will be thinking of all the exciting things you can get up to this summer. Maybe you’ve thought about taking a holiday, seeing the world, treating yourself to a shopping spree… but what about a festival? Now, we’re not talking about your average festival. Not the type where you’re stuck with a group of jumping sweaty teenagers, screaming and waving your arms to some inaudible drone. No. What we suggest is the weird and the wonderful, somewhere outside of the UK where you can be guaranteed some sunshine. Intrigued? Then read on…
La Tomatina
Talk about being red faced! Held at the end of August, La Tomatina is the biggest food fight you could ever imagine, but with just one weapon involved… the dreaded tomato. It only takes a single splat, and that’s it, you’ve been purée-d! Attracting more than 20,000 visitors each year, this festival is certainly far from ordinary. How it actually started though, no one really knows. But one thing is for sure, it’s blimin’ good fun!
Wife Carrying
Fancy flying to Europe and treating the missus to a romantic getaway? Well, while you’re there, why not nip to Finland and compete in Sonkajärvi’s Wife Carrying World Championships? The concept is simple; it’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Someone shouts ‘ready, set, go’ and you’re off; wife over the shoulder, running as fast you can, as you embark on the most bizarre obstacle course of your life. As you can imagine, it’s no easy feat, but it’ll definitely get a giggle or two. And if you are the first to cross the finish line, you’ll receive your wife’s weight in beer; everyone’s a winner!
El Colacho
Now, even next to the wife carrying event, this has to be the strangest festival we’ve come across… El Colacho, the baby jumping festival. On hearing this, you may envision a giant crèche in which hundreds of pint-sized party goers are having the time of their life, a children’s festival if you will. However, this is far from the case. In actual fact, this festival consists of rows of babies lying on the street as a daredevil type man jumps over them in front of the people of Castrillo de Murcia (you just can’t make this stuff up!) Occurring every June, this festival is traditionally held as a process to ward off evil spirits. You need to see it to believe it!
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