Let the Fun Begin!

Weird and Wonderful Festivals

The arrival of the holidays got us thinking about all of the fun we’ve had at festivals while traveling. It’s just something really cool to do if you get the opportunity. Plus, they’re fun and usually free or cheap. You never know - you may find yourself competing in the Wife Carrying Championships in Finland or celebrating Frozen Dead Guy Days in Colorado.

Did you know: 
• that women who compete in the Wife Carrying Championships in Finland can be single? 
• about the concert in Poland that you won’t find anywhere else in Middle and Eastern Europe? 
• why Oktoberfest in Germany begins in September?
• that people in Thailand are good at shooting water guns and throwing water balloons?

Wife Carrying Championships! If you’re going to be in Finland next summer, you may want to try your luck at the Annual Wife Carrying Championships! The “wife” doesn’t have to be your wife. She just has to be at least 17 years old. There are individual and team wife-carrying competitions! Winners receive a variety of prizes including the “wife’s” weight in beer, laptops, a bag full of wife-carrying products, and statues with a wife-carrying motif. This hilarious event will be held June 30- July 2 in Sonkajarvi.

Castle Party: Gothic music fans could definitely check out the Castle Party at Bolkow Castle in Bolkow, Poland July 26-29 of next year. Castle Party is the only event of this kind in Middle and Eastern Europe. It started in 1994 with five bands performing before 300 people. Now, it’s a three-day event featuring more than dozen bands performing before more than 1500 people. Previous performers include: DE/VISION (Denmark), No Name Desire (Czech Republic), The Birthday Massacre (Canada), Fading Colors (Poland), and VNV Nation (U.K.).

Running of the Bulls: If you’re going to be in Spain during July, stop by Pamplona for Fiesta of San Fermin and its most famous event, the Running of the Bulls. Thousands of brave souls try each year to lead several bulls from their pen through the streets to the bull-ring, without being gored or trampled. Most finish the run unscathed. The run is just a half-mile and lasts only a few minutes. It takes place every morning at 8:00 from July 7-14. The fiesta also includes dancing, eating, drinking, and an all-around good time.

Tomato-Throwing Fest: From Pamplona, you can head south to Bunol, which is 30 miles inland from Valencia, for a tomato fight with 35,000 people! La Tomatina is part of the town’s annual festival honoring its patron saint, San Luis Bertan. On the last Wednesday of August, everyone gathers in the town square, grabs tomatoes and starts hurling. La Tomatina is relatively new as it dates back to just the 1940s. It’s said to have started as an argument between townspeople that got a little messy. When the townspeople went back at it a year later, the town council threatened to throw everyone in jail. Today, the town council supplies the tomatoes and asks that you crush said fruit before throwing it at your intended target to avoid injury.

Mardi Gras: New Orleans version of Carnival is Mardi Gras and is crazy and colorful in its own right. You can explore all of the historical greatness of New Orleans and catch as many beads as you want at the parades during the day then party all night on Bourbon Street.

St. Patrick’s Day: Heading to Savannah, Georgia in March? If you’re going around the weekend of the 17th you’re in for a HUGE St. Patrick’s Day celebration! In fact, Savannah has the largest St. Patty’s Day party in the country. Head down to the river for all of the festivities: music, food, drinks, dancing!