BCAA Travel Blog

The world is a very weird place. If you doubt this, then come along with me in this first instalment of earth’s strangest festivals, where you will be introduced to such oddball activities as headless-chicken worship, tongue-piercing, cheese rolling, testicle-eating and viking ship arson. Our journey begins in the Spanish town of Bunol, where on the last Wednesday of August each year tens of thousands of people gather to wage the planet’s largest food fight. During the two-hour battle the town is engulfed by a raging, red cylcone, as more than one hundred metric tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes are hurled willy-nilly about the streets. No one is certain how the festival began, but La Tomatina has been taking place annually since 1945. Possible theories include a local food fight among friends, a juvenile class war, a volley of tomatoes tossed by bystanders at a carnival parade, and the anarchic aftermath of an accidental lorry spillage. Whatever its true origin, the tomato orgy has now become the climax of a week-long local festival in honour of the town’s patron saint, San Luis Bertràn.

During the week leading up to the grand event, parades, fireworks, music, dancing and a paella cook-off contest amuse visitors. When the day of the tomato war dawns, local shopkeepers cover their shop fronts with sheets of plastic and local folk and tourists take to the streets, as trucks loaded with around 125,000 kilos of ripe ammo roll into the Plaza del Pueblo. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the sidewalks are awash with juice, pavements are spattered with pulp, and all the participants are transformed into redheads.

Mike the Headless Chicken Days, Fruita, Colorado
On September 10, 1945, a Colorado farmer named farmer Lloyd Olsen went to the barn to fetch dinner. He spied Mike the Chicken and decided that he would do nicely. He raised his axe, swung it and lopped off Mike’s head. Alas, Olsen’s aim was off–he accidentally left one ear and the brain stem intact, meaning Mike didn’t die. The family decided to care for the decapitated chicken, feeding him a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper and small grains of corn. Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow.

Remarkably, the rooster lived for 18 months and became a celebrity, barnstorming side shows from Atlantic City to San Diego and even making the pages of Time and Life magazines. At the height of his popularity he earned $4,500 per month (US$50,000 in 2008 dollars) and was valued at $10,000. Olsen’s success resulted in a wave of copycat chicken beheadings, but no other chicken survived for more than a day or two. A pickled chicken head was also put on display with Mike, but this was not Mike’s original head, as a cat had already eaten it. Mike finally died while on tour in a Phoenix, Arizona motel room like some burnt-out rock star.

Today the town of Fruita, Colorado, honours the brainless bird’s legend with an annual festival held on the third weekend of May. Events include the “5-K Run Like a Headless Chicken Race,” a Chicken Dance Contest, a Chicken Recipe Contest, “Pin the Head on the Chicken,” a “Chicken Cluck-Off” and “Chicken Bingo,” in which chicken droppings on a numbered grid choose the numbers.

Cooper Hill Cheese Rolling Festival, England
The English boast several eccentric celebrations, but the annual May 28 cheese-rolling festival near Gloucester stands out for its lunacy. Some have suggested that the event derives from a pagan ritual; the modern-day version is definitely primitive. Although cheese-rolling may sound like an innocent pastime, it is actually downright dangerous. Charging full-tilt down an extremely steep hill in pursuit of a madly spinning eight-pound wheel of cheese can be well-nigh lethal. In fact, police have attempted to outlaw the event, but participants have refused to observe the ban. So what happens during a cheese roll? It’s quite simple. At the count of three, someone starts the cheese rolling, and at the count of four all mayhem breaks lose as the contestants zoom down the incline after it. Most racers lose their footing and somersault, cartwheel, and careen wildly down the slope like rag dolls. Broken bones are a given, and sprains and bruises are numerous. Inevitably, the chunk of Gloucester wins, but the fastest person gets to take home the cheese. Four races are held on the day, including an event for the ladies.

Thaipusam, Malaysia
“Tuning out the pain” appears to be the operative phrase here. Thaipusam is an annual celebration in honour of the Hindu god Subramanian. It began in 1892, started by Tamils who migrated to colonial Malaysia. In order to win favour with the god and ensure their good fortune, worshippers take elaborate sacrificial measures, ranging from simple offerings of milk and flowers, to impaling themselves with long metal skewers–often a metre long–and piercing their chests and backs with hook-like needles. Because they are in a trance state, they claim not to feel any discomfort. This festival of masochism is highlighted by a procession of several thousand people that leaves the Sri Mahamariaman temple in downtown Kuala Lumpur, carrying a five-ton silver-chariot and other giant metal constructions on a 15-kilometre trek to the Batu Caves, where they climb the 272 stairs into the caves. It’s a huge event, with thousands of participants and close to two million onlookers.

The Testicle Festival, Clinton, Montana
Rock Creek Lodge just outside of Clinton, Montana throws the world’s largest testicle festival (yes, there are others) each August, attracting more than 15,000 fans annually to its five-day event. There is no dress code, but attendees must be 21 years and over (sorry, no kids allowed). Major activities include drinking a lot of beer and munching on Rocky Mountain Oysters, more commonly known as bull’s testicles–which are usually served deep-fired. Yum-mee. While you’re there, you’ll no doubt want to engage in the bull-chip throwing contest, the wet T-shirt or hairy chest competitions, and B.S. Bingo, in which the crowd bets on when a bull will poop. There is live music, with as many as six different bands playing, and a copious flow of alcohol, especially Bull Snort Brew, made especially for the festival by Big Sky Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana. If you go, make sure you pick up a souvenir T-shirt bearing the cojones carnival’s snappy logo: “I had a ball at the Testicle Festival.”

Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland
The Shetland Islands, and their southerly neighbours the Orkneys, were part of Norway until 1472 when they were ceded to Scotland in lieu of a royal marriage dowry. The most spectacular example of their Norse heritage is displayed each year with the Up-Helly-Aa festival, which ranks as a pyromaniac’s pipe dream. Descended from the ancient festival of Yule, which the Vikings held to celebrate the rebirth of the sun, this northern Mardi Gras lasts just one day (and night) and is staged on the last Tuesday in January. Only men can take an active part in the event, which ranks as the largest festival of its kind in the world. After a torch-light procession through the streets of Lerwick, up to a thousand “guizers” (many decked out in ferocious berserker regalia), proceed to gleefully burn a full-size replica Viking longship to a crisp. The “guizers” and onlookers then repair to local halls for a night of revelry, dancing and partying. If you want to join in, be forewarned—it is considered a sign of weakness to slink off to bed before 8:00 a.m.

(To be continued …)
 

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