The 5 strangest food festivals
In the United States, and also in other countries around the world, food festivals are all the rage. Enjoy an organic quinoa burger at your local food market or visit a more original food festival around the world. Go skiing on watermelons, throw tomatoes or join the battle of the oranges! These are the strangest food festivals in the world:
1. La Tomatina – Bunol, Spain
The biggest food fight in the world is taking place in the Spanish town of Buñol. During this total tomato madness as there are no teams. As soon as the trucks full of tomatoes roll into town, it’s every man for himself. The result? A hectic tomato level in which nothing and no one is safe. At the end of the day the town is completely dyed red and tomato juice is spilled through the streets. Delicious!
Fly to Valencia, from here it is only a 35 minute drive to Buñol.
2. Battaglia delle Arance – Ivrea, Italy
The ‘Battle of the Oranges’ takes place in the northern Italian city of Ivrea and is the oldest food festival in the country. In three days, more than 270,000 kilos of oranges are used (and not to squeeze natural orange juice). The festival dates back to the 12th century and commemorates the victory of the inhabitants of Ivrea over the local tyrant. Festival participants will be divided into teams and then ‘fight’ each other with oranges.
3. World Custard Pie Championships – Coxheath, UK
Since 1967, the World Cream Pie Throwing Championship has been held in Coxheath, UK. Every year more than 80 teams compete with participants from all over the world. The rules of the competition are simple: each team consists of four people and they are dressed in comical costumes. Each team stands next to a table and throws pies at opponents who are about 2.5 meters away. If they run out of cakes, the winner is chosen based on a specific point system.
The nearest airport is London Gatwick. From here it is around 50 minutes by car or 1.5 hours by train to Coxheath.
4. Chinchilla Melon Festival – Chinchilla, Australia
If we think of Australia, we think of snorkelling, surfing and diving, but did you know that you can ski in Australia? In watermelons? Yes, you read it right! Every two years they organize a Melon Festival in the town of Chinchilla. During the festival you can join different melon related activities like spitting melon seeds, throwing melons, but the most fun activity is watermelon skiing. What are the rules? Simple: put your feet in two watermelons, put on the watermelon helmet and let yourself go.
Would you like to visit this gastronomic festival? Fly to Brisbane and book a domestic flight to Chinchilla Airport.
5. Radish Night – Oaxaca, Mexico
While pumpkin carving is a well-known Halloween tradition in the US, they have a tradition with vegetable cutting in Oaxaca, Mexico during the Christmas season. Instead of big orange pumpkins, they use radishes and carve them into magnificent radish sculptures. At the end of the evening, a jury calls the most beautiful sculpture the winner. A ‘para-radish’ for radish lovers!
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