Tired of the same old expensive music and art festivals? Witness (or take part in!) one of the world’s Top 5 Weird and Wonderful festivals – entry free.
El Colacho (Baby Jumping) – Castillo de Murcia, Spain (June)
You won’t see this at London 2012 – men dressed as devils hurdling mattress after mattress. The really strange part? Each mattress has several babies on it! Spain’s Castillo de Murcia has hosted this bizarre evil-cleansing ritual for nearly 400 years.
Cheese Rolling – Cooper’s Hill Gloucestershire, UK (May)
A whole round Double Gloucestershire cheese is rolled down a really steep hill, while competitors are invited to chase it. Numerous eccentrics tumble out of control in hot pursuit. The first claims the cheese – this is if s/he can still stand.
Mud Festival – Boryeong, South Korea (July)
Each year hundreds participate in mud-oriented ‘athletic’ (skiing, obstacle courses), ‘artistic’ (handprinting) and ‘therapeutic’ (bathes and massages) activities, all in the name of soaking up some of Daecheon beach mud’s famous healing properties.
Noche de Rábanos (Night of the Radishes) – Oaxaca City, Mexico (23 December)
Forget pumpkin carving. Root vegetable sculpting in Mexico is on another level. Thousands flock to Oaxaca City’s main plaza to view an exhibition of sculptures made from large red radishes grown especially for the Dec. 23 event.
Roodharigendag (RedHead Day) – Breda, Netherlands (September)
It’s said the redhead gene is dying out. Roodharigendag, ahem, may help arrest its decline. Accidentally started by an artist, the now annual event boasts music, fashion shows, lectures and photo-shoots entertaining up to 4,000 people of 50 different nationalities.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: Will De Freitas, e3000,
