Unusual Festivals

A boat race down a dry river bed, a food fight that splatters an entire town red and a headfirst roll down a steep hill after a wheel of cheese; these are just some of the amazing things people will do to entertain themselves. Some of these events are steeped in history and significance; others are just an offbeat way for a town to have fun. Either way, there are plenty of these madcap events around.
 

Racing With Boat Made of Beer Cans

First off, there's the Henley on Todd Regatta, surely one of the most charmingly quirky events on the whole of the Australian continent. In the desert town of Alice Springs, on a riverbed that almost never sees water, an annual race occurs where teams of men and women compete to see who has the fastest boat. Since the river has no water, the boats have no bottoms. Or paddles. The teams run down the riverbed with their feet sticking out of the bottom of their boats. T

raditionally, most of the boats are made of beer cans, and custom holds that any crew ‘sailing’ such a boat is required to empty the cans first. The competition is always hilarious and draws thousands of spectators and participants every year from as far as Canberra or Cairns, as well as foreigners curious to see the crazy Aussies in action. They aren’t often disappointed: the only year the race wasn’t held was in 1993, when the weather forecast predicted rain.

Throwing Tomatoes All Day

The Aussies aren’t the only ones to have peculiar festivals. Europeans know how to have fun too, and the Spanish have taken the term ‘food fight’ to another level. Every August, thousands of people take part in the La Tomatina festival in the tiny town of Bunol. Officially, the occasion is supposed to celebrate the harvest, music, food, family togetherness and other respectable reasons. Unofficially, most people are just waiting for the last day, when they get to go around throwing tomatoes at each other and get hit with ripe, red tomatoes in return!

Originally started as a friendly food fight between groups of friends, La Tomatina has since become a cherished town tradition. Truckloads of the red stuff are hauled in each year, and the town has a distinctly pink tinge by the end of the day. The main plaza is filled with men, women and children hurling the squishy missiles in a madcap variant of a civil war where each person constitutes a side, and everyone else is fair game. The only rule is that the tomato has to be squashed in the hand first before being thrown. Even aged and venerable grandmothers have been known to participate.

Chasing A Cheese Wheel Down A Hill

Of course, not everyone believes a good old food fight is all that strange. After all, they’ll scoff, if there’s no danger to life and limb in the pursuit of danger for an objective that is ultimately ludicrous, where’s the fun? Such risk takers may be pleased to participate in the famous Running With the Bulls event in Pamplona, but for those with a little less breath and only a little more sense, there is an event tailored to their expectations. The Cheese Rolling of Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, England has all the hallmarks of a prank first born out of madness, which was subsequently and inexplicably adopted by highly respectable people as a local tradition. No one knows how the event got started, and no one really cares. To participate, contestants go to Cooper’s Hill (between Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham in the Cotswolds) on the last Monday in May. Everyone gathers on top of a ludicrously steep hill and waits impatiently as a Master of Ceremonies intones the formal opening verses:

‘One to be ready,
Two to be steady,
Three to prepare,
Four to be off.’

At the count of three, someone starts an 8 lb wheel of Gloucester’s finest cheese rolling down the hill, and at the count of four, all mayhem breaks lose as the contestants roll themselves after it. Hardly anyone does the sensible thing and keeps on their feet – most prefer to roll, somersault, cartwheel or simply tumble ungraciously down the slope. Bruises, sprains and broken bones are common. There’s also the possibility of crowd-bowling: often, the 4,000-strong throng of spectators don’t get out of the way of the cheese or the rolling bodies and end up alongside the contestants. Incidentally, the objective is to beat the cheese down the hill. The cheese always wins, but the fastest person rolling gets to keep the cheese.

Of course, trading bruises for a bit of cheese isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. Many straight-laced, button-downed persons refuse to take part in such lunatic events for fear of the damage to their dignity. Fortunately, there are always more adventurous types willing to join in the fun and many will travel thousands of miles to enjoy an event far out of the ordinary. After all, there’s just something about weird festivals that catches your attention and stays vivid in your memory long after the usual music, film and cultural festivals have faded in your mind. Even the most respectable people are often drawn to the scene of such lunacy. They may even enjoy themselves – as long as they stay away from the cheese!

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First published 30 November 2004. This article is free for personal and commercial reproduction, with the following terms and conditions.