50 Weird Food Festivals Around the World
When you start looking into the the weird food festivals in the world you begin to realise just how many there are. And, just how bonkers they seem.
Who decides that throwing fruit at each other is a good idea? Who travels hundreds of miles to throw a tomato at a cool food festival?
Well, us people, that’s who.
I’ve even partaken in a little food fight in my life too.
I went to the craziness that is Tomatina, and from seeing that play out, I decided to look at another 50 crazy food festivals around the world, to see just how they do it in America, and Finland, and Korea, and… everywhere!
50 Weird Food Festivals Around the World
1. La Tomatina
Bunol, Spain
Well, let’s start with Tomatina, seeing as I’ve mentioned it.
Possibly the world’s biggest food fight, La Tomatina pulls in thousands from across the world on the last Wednesday of each August. Festival goers are let loose with over-ripe tomatoes and pound one another in the small Valencian town of Bunol. Once just for locals, this juicy fest has really taken off and now you need a ticket to attend.
Definitely recommend though – check out my video guide to Tomatina to find out everything you need to know.
READ MORE: Unique Spain Experiences You Have to Try
2. Waikiki Spam Jam
Waikiki, Hawaii
I don’t think I’ve ever even tried Spam. My mum used to always joke that that’s what I was getting for dinner, but she never actually followed up.
Did you know though, Hawaiians love the stuff?
So much so that every April/May the Waikiki Spam Jam Street Festival is dedicated to the best of the Spam world. People dress up, drink, have fun, and errr, eat Spam.
Who knew the canned goods had enough love for a whole food festival around them?
3. Bibimbap Festival
Jeonju, South Korea
I remember my first Bibimbap, in Holborn, London, when I was about 25. I’d never even heard of the things before but from that first taste I can definitely say, I was in love. If you’ve never tried one get down to your nearest South Korean restaurant asap.
Or, if you’re looking for your next holiday destination, go to the South Korean town of Jeonju. They loves their dish of rice, raw beef, egg, veg and gochujang sauce so much, they take four days out of October to celebrate it. Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic. Making it that little bit different is the epic bibimbap that’s whipped up in a giant bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.
FEED ME.
4. Rabechilbi Richterswil
Zurich, Switzerland
Although there’s food, 30 tonnes in fact, involved in this one, no one’s getting any fuller. Like Halloween’s smaller but equally creepy cousin, Rabechilbi Richterswil happens in November in Zurich. It involves locals cutting and carving turnips into different shaped lanterns.
And I’m not talking small carvings but massive masterpieces that make my annual ‘two eyes and a mouth pumpkin’ look pathetic in comparison.
Instead of then leaving them on the doorstep, locals parade the turnips through the Swiss town of Richterswil of an evening. This is supposed to honour the churchgoers of the 1850s who didn’t have street lamps and instead got crafty and lit the way to the chapel by walking with their twinkling turnips.
5. Night of the Radishes
Oaxaca, Mexico
The Swiss aren’t alone in their love of carving out a veg. In the run up to Christmas, Oaxaca residents in Mexico also whip out the tools and turn radishes into tiny humans and houses in the name of the radish food festival. Just picture your old dollhouse but add on ten levels of creepy and a tinge of red.
What started as a way to attract people into stores after church services is now an artisan event with 12,000 pesos up for grabs for the chief carver on 23rd December.
6. Els Enfarinats Festival
Ibi, Spain
Apparently there’s no better way to see the year out than to pelt your pals with flour and eggs on the streets, at least that’s what they believe in Ibi on the Costa Brava. For the last 200 years, on the 28th December, two teams have doused one another in the baked goods for two hours.
Yeah, not sure why… feel sorry for whoever has to clean that huge mess up.
7. La Batalla de Vino
La Rioja, Spain
Terrible waste of wine or all just good fun? I’m torn.
I’d probably go and check it out though, if ever given the opportunity.
On the 29th June in La Rioja locals put on a white tee and a red scarf and spray the red vino all over one another just outside the town of Haro. Once the corks are popped, the bottles all empty and La Batalla de Vino is over, you know the week long Haro Wine Festival has ended and everyone’s liver is about to fail.
Justifying why all that wine is wasted, history says it goes back to the 13th century when Haro and the neighbouring town had to lay out their boundaries twice a year if they didn’t want to become a part of the other town. Eventually, communication broke down, lines weren’t drawn and the random flinging of wine at one another seemed like thing to do.
Method in their madness?
8. Ivrea Orange Fest
Ivrea, Italy
The Spanish aren’t alone in flinging their food – the Italians in Ivrea do the same. In February people gather their oranges and throw them at one another giving the town a zesty smell and orange tinge. It originates way back to the Middle Ages when girls would throw oranges at the boys they like. Instead of taking it as a mating call the boys threw them back(!), and so the annual event began.
Just one of the great festivals in February you need to go to.
9. Bressieres Easter Egg Festival
Brassieres, France
Come Easter we’re dreaming of dipping into our crème eggs but for those in the French town of Brassieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet. They celebrate the religious holiday by gathering to watch the Giant Omelette Brotherhood of Bessieres (yes that’s a thing) beat around 15,000 eggs with baguettes to make make one giant omelette for the townsfolk on Easter Monday.
It usually takes a few hours and stirs up a flurry as spectators come to watch this record-breaking and extremely eggy event.
10. Potato Days Festival
Barnesville, Minnesota
Ever heard of Barnesville, Minnesota?
Me neither but it’s supposed to be one of the best spud-producing places in the US and the town showcases its appreciation of the root vegetable by hosting an entire weekend of smashing good potato-orientated games. Think potato picking contests, mashed potato wrestling, a potato eating contest and even a Miss Tater Tot pageant all mashed into the last weekend of August.
11. World Pea Shooting Championship
Cambridgeshire, England
Originally dreamt up in 1971 by a local headmaster, the World Pea Shooting Championship was initially used as a way to fundraise for the local school in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Over 40 years later and it was obviously a success because it’s still being used as a way to bring in funds, but for the village hall.
Definitely one for the weird food festivals list, over the years, residents have begun to take their pea popping abilities very seriously. They spend weeks before the second Saturday of July creating their own personalised pea shooter.
Come competition day, participants pay a small fee and then shoot the tiny veg at a target. Similar to darts, the winner with the most points acquired from hitting the target walks away with a shield and lifelong pea-popping glory.
12. Chinchilla Melon Festival
Brisbane, Australia
In a place called Chinchilla, just 300km outside of Australia’s Brisbane, the melon capital of Oz celebrates its love of the refreshing veg by holding a four-day celebration each February. You can certainly carry a watermelon but you can also go melon skiing, join in the melon iron man, take part in a melon weigh-in or even browse the melon-themed market.
13. Roadkill Festival
West Virginia, USA
Ever seen a mangled badger on the side of the road? Would you eat it? Like, for fun?
Well, in West Virginia, the locals like their meat so fresh they trawl the highways for roadside tragedies. Once they find an unlucky deer or unruly rabbit they add it to their dish to take the taste up a gear.
The cooks then enter the morbid meals into the annual September competition where the winner receives a $1000 prize. And of course, there’s a whole party to bookend the weird food festival too.
14. BaconFest
Pennsylvania, USA
Baaaaaacon. I love it. With beans, in a roll, on a burger, lathered in sauce, with a fry…there’s not much bacon doesn’t go with and for pork-lovers everywhere Pennsylvania’s BaconFest is an event to eat all things streaky, smoked and cured.
Across the first weekend in November, BaconFest puts together a pork-packed schedule full of bacon-loving events to entertain the little piggies as well as the big ones. For fashionistas there’s the bacon costume contest, then there’s the pig race and, for those who love a tipple, there’s even the bacon cocktail class.
While all this is honky dory, BaconFest is really all about supporting local independent farms and getting fresh farm food onto tables so we can feel a little less guilty about eating so much.
15. Nevis Mango Festival
Nevis, St Kitts
You don’t need much persuasion to spend some time sunning on the Caribbean island of St Kitts but adding a mango festival to the beautiful beaches and island life means I’m definitely there.
Just time a trip over a certain three days in July, and you can munch on as much of the tropical fruit as you want and watch as islanders get their teeth stuck into this juicy affair. They host mango tasting sessions and cooking demos, masterclasses and celebrity dinners all in honour of this incredibly tasty fruit.
16. Fete du Citron
Menton, France
For the lemon-growing region of France, it’s all about celebrating the citrus and for 20 days the Menton streets are decked out in 140 tonnes of oranges and lemons. Starting off as a way to attract tourists back in the 1900s, it’s been super successful and now year on year people flock to the town on the French Riviera in February just to see the citrus in action.
There’s also an annual Golden Fruit Parade, the Gardens of Lights (and fruit of course) and a special exhibition showcasing citrus patterns just to really make it clear that Menton is mental for lemons.
17. Cheese Rolling Festival
Gloucestershire, England
Calling all serious athletes. This is one race that will put your stamina to the test and pit you against the ultimate opponent: a wheel of cheese. Located in Gloucestershire each year at the end of May, a master of ceremonies releases a nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a big hill in a place called Brockworth.
Once the cheese starts rolling, it’s ready set race as 40 plus runners topple, slide and hurl their way down the hill hoping to be the first to reach the bottom and claim the wheel as the prize.
18. Maine Lobster Festival
Maine, USA
For five days at the start of August, the US state of Maine goes all out to mark its love of lobster with a packed agenda.
We’re talking cooking contests, a sea goddess pageant – because why not – and a lobster crate race mixed with all your usual food stalls, live music and good time vibes for under $10. You can even get up close and pet marine life in the tent dedicated to underwater creatures before filling up on your fair share of fish and crustaceans (eyebrow raises).
19. Cheese Curd Festival
Wisconsin, USA
If you don’t know what cheese curds are and haven’t stuffed your face full of them then you’ve been missing out. These tiny kernels of cheese curds are made from curdled milk which may not sound the most appetising but I promise they’re really good. They’re also a staple of any good North American diet, and Ellsworth in Wisconsin fully embraces the curd by hosting an annual event all around it.
Taking place in June, it’s a free to enter which means you can save all those dollars for feasting on all the different varieties of cheese curds.
20. BugFest
North Carolina, USA
Although this North Carolina festival is dedicated to learning about the world of insects, there is a significant portion of it that plays like a live episode of I’m a Celebrity. Café Insecta is a special section where local chefs serve up the best of the bug world for you to taste.
It takes some serious guts to munch on a moving bug so well done if you can make your way through an entire dish.
21. Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival
Florida, USA
Again strong stomachs are needed for this one.
Not just for Frenchies, the Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival has Florida residents all in a hop come over four days in January. A $20 wristband gets you into the festival where you can sample ‘famous mouth-watering frog leg and gator tail dinners’. After you’ve chowed down on a gator pounder or munched on a frog pop, you can then take your full tummy to the accompanying fairground ride. Enter the bucket.
22. Gilroy Garlic Festival
California, USA
Although they don’t say so, I reckon the town of Gilroy, California has a thing about vampires. Why else would you put aside three days each year to talk about garlic?
Either way locals seem to love the July event keeping attendance strong for over 40 years. There are all the usual festival stalls, rides and stands but down Gourmet Alley you can watch the pros cook up a garlic storm and sample some delicious classics like steak fries before trying the more unusual likes of garlic ice cream.
23. Hungry Ghosts Festival
China
Although this festival requires copious amounts of food, it doesn’t actually involve consuming any, at least not for us mere mortals. The Hungry Ghosts Festival across China and other Asian countries is all about honouring ancestors and pleasing those who are stuck between this life and the next.
Making offerings of food and drink along the roadside throughout the seventh month of the lunar calendar, aka August or September, is thought to keep the nice ghosts happy and stop the mischievous ones from creating any havoc.
There are lots of other parts to this festival too like a lantern release on a lake, listening to Chinese opera and burning incense. The most popular thing to do though, is to host a hungry ghost feast where you dine with empty chairs at the table leaving just enough room for the ancestors to join.
24. Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race
Yorkshire, England
Personally I’m only interested in seeing a Yorkshire pudding floating in a pool of gravy alongside my beef and potatoes, but the folks of Brawby in the north of England have other things in mind for the Sunday pastry.
It started back in 1999 when this pub owner who likely had had one too many had a crazy idea to sail down the river in a Yorkshire pudding. Apparently not one to shy away from a challenges, he set about whipping up 50 eggs, 4 bags of flour and 25 pints of milk into one giant pud that he then, here comes the not so tasty part, lathered it in varnish.
Surprisingly, when it was time to set sail the pud come boat was a success and people decided to create their own. Now it’s a yearly event pulling in loads of people eager to watch the pud paddlers float down the river to what they call the temple of doom.
25. Beer Floating Festival
Uusimaa, Finland
So beer is not strictly food but this bizarre beverage fest in Finland is sneaking its way into the weird food festivals category. That’s because it combines a love of beer with sitting in a rubber dingy. Basically you get your dingy or makeshift water vessel, take it to the Kerava river in the Uusimaa province and just float your way along while sipping on nothing but beer.
Totally free to do and kind of unofficial, over 5,000 flock to the area each year but the time and date is never nailed down until a few weeks before and then shouted out on social media. With so many people, the river soon becomes congested and rather than a fun float it becomes a rubber to rubber all day beer party.
26. The Cat Eating Festival
La Quebrada, Peru
Major warning for cat lovers, and just pet lovers in general, this one is absolutely disgusting. There’s a little town in Peru called La Quebrada and as part of their celebrations to honour the saint of Efigenia, they hold the gastronomic festival of the cat each September.
It’s meant to be all about remembering what it was like for the first settlers who came to the land and were forced to eat cats to survive. Intent on keeping this creepy cat tradition alive, felines are specifically bred for the annual event and then served up in loads of different ways like in spicy cat stews and grilled cat dishes.
Of course many people including the PETA have said hell no and called for it to stop but Peruvians remain committed to the cause claiming cat meat has medicinal properties and even acts as an aphrodisiac. I’d rather take strawberries and cream any day.
I can add this to the list of festivals I will never go to. Obviously I don’t condone this in any way, I’m just checking you’re still reading down this far.
27. Mooncake Festival
Around China
This one goes by a few different names including the Mid-Autumn Festival and Moon Festival but no matter the moniker, it’s still the second biggest festival in the Chinese calendar after new year. It takes place across China when the moon is at its largest specifically on the on the 15th day of the 8th month, that was September 24th this year, and in terms of food, the part to focus on is the mooncake portion.
It’s where the Chinese pay tribute to the moon by sitting under it and just eating cake — sounds like the ideal festival right? Made from lotus seed paste, yolk from duck eggs and coming in various flavours, families across China gift the cakes to one another to represent wishing them a healthy and happy life so we’ll be taking half a dozen thanks.
28. Wildfoods Festival
Hokitika, New Zealand
The clue is in the name with this one. Intent on making kiwis push the limits when it comes to their everyday eating, Hokitika’s Wildfoods Festival in March is all about embracing the weird and wonderful cuisine of New Zealand and even claims to offer everything from ‘delicacy to disgusting’.
For a $50 day ticket you can snack away on traditional New Zealand food as well as some slightly bizarre takes or alternatively, if you’re not feeling the food, put on your gladrags for the Feral Fashion competition.
29. Hatch Chilli Festival
Hatch, New Mexico
Over 30,000 people flock to this tiny roadside town of Hatch in New Mexico to sample what locals say is their world famous crop: the chilli. They put two days aside each September and serve up child dishes, watch the chilli queen be crowned and watch grown men cry as they partake in the chilli eating contest.
Definitely recommend packing the water bottle for this crazy and weird food festival!
30. Maslenitsa Pancake Festival
All over Russia
Known as Maslenitsa, this festival takes place across the whole of Russia, marks the end of winter and is part of the pre-lent celebrations— a time when a lot of Russians fast. Preparing to go dairy-free if not food-free, they spend this entire week before stuffing their faces full of pancakes.
Of course being a week long there’s a lot more to do than eat pancakes: snowball fights, sledding, horseback riding, parties and parades for starters. Every day is topped off with pancakes that are supposed to symbolise the sun and the arrival of its warmth as it transitions into spring.
On the seventh day of the festival it’s all about forgiveness. People forgive each other for any wrongdoings, and themselves for eating so many pancakes, and to show its all a thing of the past they burn a straw doll with a pancake in her hand known as the the Maslenitsa mascot. Strange right?
31. Crepe Festival
Gourin, France
A little more sophisticated than the common pancake, the French town Gourin has been going all out for crepes for over 26 years. Over the last weekend in July, everybody munches as many as they can and rounds the event off with a competition to produce the biggest and most evenly produced crepe. Previous entries have come in around 82 inches.
Not just about the crepe though, it also commemorates the old Breton times with traditional dancing and pipe music, which means you can justify going for the culture and not just the crepes.
32. Chicago Hot Dog Fest
Chicago, USA
Could there be anything more all-American than a hot dog festival? Dating back to 1893, Chicago’s been all about the dog for years and pulls in more than 30,000 sausage lovers each August willing to try different varieties and styles of the traditional hot dog.
Giving you something to enjoy your dog with, there’s also a lineup of local musical talent as well as hot dog historians (apparently that’s an actual thing) on hand to recant tales of the past when it comes to this bun and meat sarnie.
33. What the Fluff? Festival
Massachusetts, USA
“What the Fluff?” That’s the questions the US town of Somerville, Massachusetts is asking for the 13th time this year. This is the town where marshmallow brand Fluff was invented in 1917 and the town is so proud that for the past 13 years they’ve hosted a festival to mark the making of the marshmallow.
Over 20,000 attend for the music and games, cooking and costume contests all with a thinly veiled theme of marshmallow on the top. Think blind man’s fluff, a marshmallow toss, a marsh pitt and an appearance from a group called The Fluffettes. This town literally goes truly gaga over this soft and squishy product.
34. Yuma Lettuce Days Festival
Arizona, USA
This one is for the health conscious and five-a-day fans. Don’t be fooled by the name though. Although the locals are all about a good lettuce, this two-day February festival is about more than the salad staple. The historic town of Yuma in Arizona goes all out to pay homage to all the fruits and vegetables able to grow in this desert area.
It starts with a Friday night shindig before the celebrations spill over to Saturday with more music, a farmer’s market and cooking demos.
35. Ugly Food Festival
All over Iceland
Hands down this festival has the best name. No illusions or hidden meanings, the Ugly Food Festival is literally about eating all the ugly food Iceland has to offer, and apparently that’s a lot.
Pickled ram’s testicles, liver pudding, boiled sheep’s head, blood pudding, rotten shark; these are all served up at a traditional “Þorrablót” feast which are hosted from the 23rd of January for a month. The idea is that it’s a way of honouring one of the Norse gods and to be honest, add in a little bit of Viking love and I’m totally onboard.
Lovers of the funny looking since 1873, Icelanders go wild for this event each winter, but understandably tourists treat it with a little more trepidation.
36. Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Cheung Chau, China
It’s time to get out that Chinese calendar again and work out when the fifth to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month are (spoiler: it’s May). When you’ve got it you’ll know it’s time for the Cheung Chau Bun Festival in this small island off Hong Kong.
The story goes that this event started in the 1600s, aka plague era, when locals put an altar together outside the Pak Tai Temple to pray to their god asking them to ward any evil spirits off the island and basically rid them of the plague. Apparently it worked, the plague ended and all these years later the same parade and praying is done annually to continue the tradition.
But where does the food come in? Well, at the end of the week of music and dance, drums and parades, there’s a bun scrambling competition. Back outside that Pak Tai Temple competitors race to climb the bamboo tower and collect as many buns as they can. The higher the buns are that they collect, the more points they collect and the more likely they are to become a crowned bun king or queen.
37. Olney Pancake Race
Buckinghamshire, England
Calling all the girls. This pancake race in the small town of Olney in England’s Buckinghamshire is for females only and those who can claim the town has been their home for over 3 months.
The aim of the game? To be the first one over the finish line with their pancake in the pan.
Attracting onlookers and participants since 1445, this slightly strange food event hosted each February is old but gold. It even goes international when they set up a live link at the end of the day with the town of Liberal in the US to determine which town has managed to get the best pancake race times.
38. Salon du Chocolat Festival
Paris, France
If it’s got chocolate in the name then it’s a no-brainer. Add in the fact the Salon du Chocolat Festival is hosted in Paris’ Porte of Versailles and it’s definitely going in the calendar. Over 500 people apparently think so too and drag their sweet behinds from over 60 countries to Paris in chilly November to indulge in chocolate from five continents whipped into something great by 200 chefs.
39. Tunarama
Port Lincoln, Australia
Making waves each January in the small Australian town of Port Lincoln Foreshore is the Tunarama Festival. Over three days people compete in all kinds of nautical contests including the slippery pole comp, prawn peeling contest and sand sculpture trials.
But, the event everyone comes to catch is the world champion tuna toss where rubber fish are thrown as far as possible for a prize of $1000.
The idea behind this is to mimic what dockworkers would have done back in the day when too many fish were clogging up the decks. Right, why not hey?
40. Meatopia
Meatopia, US & UK
If you love nothing more than a pulled pork sarnie, nice juicy burger or a chicken skewer, this festival is for you. Meatopia takes place in multiple locations in the US as well as London. It’s set to bring on the meat sweats by bringing together some of the best quality and ethically sourced meat from the UK.
Usually over three days and falling on a bank holiday in the UK, top chefs in London cook up a meaty storm over wood stoves and charcoal and you can sample it all for between £20-£30 depending on the day.
This may not quite fit the ‘weird food festivals’ vibe, but definitely one of the top ones I’d like to go to.
41. Shrimp Festival
Oostduinkerke, Belgium
Partying for the prawns?
Why not?
This festival in Belgium is all about honouring the men who’ve brought us those tiny tender morsels of pinky perfection over the years: shrimp. But in this town it used to be the norm to catch the fish on horseback rather than on a boat and so each year the locals get back in the saddle to resurrect the old way of fishing.
Seen as seafaring heroes, after the catch they then ride through the town of Oostduinkerke lapping up a little bit of local love before Sunday brings a parade with shrimp cooked up in a load of different ways.
42. Baltic Herring Festival
Helsinki, Finland
Apparently dedicating an entire weekend to fish is a popular thing to do because the Finnish are at it too only this time it’s about herring. In the capital of Helsinki in early October, the city’s port and market square are decked out in maritime attire throwing residents back to a time of traditional fishing with wooden boats.
Today’s fishermen from across the country then haul their catch of the day to the capital along with any bread and random crafts they have to showcase the best the country has to offer. This fest dates back to 1743 but rather than just being about whose fish is the favourite, it’s evolved a little bit to include cooking demonstrations, contests and live music.
43. Vidalia Onion Festival
Georgia, USA
For 41 years, it’s been all about ode to an onion in the town of Vidalia in Georgia, US. The Vidalia onion, not just any onion, is their official state vegetable and boy do they take its status seriously. It starts with a street dance on the Friday night for $5 then transitions to a concert on the Saturday in the town’s City Park.
Entrance for that is a little higher at $15 but that’ll get you an all day pass to the likes of the Little Miss Vidalia onion pageant, performances of a play and an onion culinary session. Make sure to pack the sunnies to avoid the inevitable onion tears.
44. Thailand Vegetarian Festival
Phuket, Thailand
This one is a weird food festival of sorts but instead of celebrating food it marks the absence of it. For nine days at the end of October, residents of Phuket abstain from eating meat because they believe it’ll improve their health and bring them some peace.
Why?
Well it’s said to date back to a time when a Chinese opera were visiting the area. They all got malaria but after going veggie and praying to the gods they were all cured. To thank the gods the local people held a festival and it was so good they decided to do it every year. Now it’s a big deal with fire eating, body piercing and people coming from other Asian countries for the celebrations.
I REALLY want to go to this weird food festival :).
45. Humongous Fungus Festival
Michigan, USA
Yep you read right, a festival for fungus, but not just any fungus. This one specifically celebrates the humongous fungus, which is basically a giant mushroom grown in Crystal Falls, Michigan.
Although it only tentatively holds the title for the largest living organism, it is over 21,000lbs, spans 37 acres mostly underground and is thought to be over 1,500 years old. Apparently residents feel so blessed to have this old and big mushroom in their midst they throw a fungus fiesta each August.
For one day they run regular games of golf, volleyball and horseshoe tosses but then add in some tubing, pie eating and fireworks. The pinnacle of the weekend though is the creation of the largest mushroom pizza in the world. At 10 x 10 feet, it’s a whopper and an entirely appropriate way to celebrate being home to a pretty impressive shroom.
46. Hot Luck
Austin, USA
All year round Hot Luck pops up in different US cities but its main edition happens on Memorial Day weekend in May all over the city of Austin. Tickets range from $15 to $550 and it’s basically the biggest feel good mash up of food, music and party under the hot Texas sun.
Top chefs from across the country bring their A game while local talent cook up a storm. An amalgamation of events, you can attend one of the formal dinners, the more casual Franklin Barbecue backyard party or head to the Night Court for a themed food court. There’s an event for every budget, food for every palate and DJ dropping the beat for every taste.
47. Setsubun Festival
All over Japan
Think of a setsubun like a spring clean. It’s a once a year event that takes place at the start of spring, which in Japan is February, and involves getting rid of all the bad stuff. But in this case the bad stuff is evil spirits and the cleaning involves throwing soybeans.
Beans are said to represent vitality and throwing them makes your home pure again. If you’re in Japan around this time you’ll catch people throwing the beans outside their front door while one member of the family dresses as a demon and shouts things. Don’t be alarmed, just know they’re having a clear out.
48. Feria del Mole
Throughout Mexico
The best dish are those served with a side of female empowerment and that’s what Feria del Mole is all about. Although many places have now adopted this event making it the biggest food fest in Mexico and a popular one in the US,. It originated in San Pedro Atocpan, a neighbourhood of Mexico City and happens in early October.
It’s a celebration of food and females and originated out of the Universidad Popular’s Women’s Empowerment Program. They found that although they all had a problem putting themselves down, when it came to cooking every women thought they had skills, especially if it was mole-making. A mole is a stew or sauce that comes in hundreds of varieties. And so to encourage women to own the things they’re good at, Feria del Mole was born where women and men compete for the top mole prize.
49. Pahiyas Festival
San Isidro, Philippines
Food comes to this Filipino festival has two functions. First is to fill you up. As part of the May 15 celebrations honouring San Isidro de Labrador, the Patron Saint of Farmers, there are loads of stalls and food vendors you can wander around and choose from.
Secondly, it’s a staple material in decorating. Another way locals pay homage to the saint is to go all out decorating their house. Rice wafers are among the top decorating items are used to help people put together the most creative looking house exterior. And if you get a little peckish while decorating you can also sample a slice of the rice paper.
50. La Merengada
Barcelona, Spain
Easter in Spain is a big deal – wherever you are you’ll see some form of parade with massive figurines and music. Vilanova i la Geltru, just outside Barcelona is no different however, during their weeklong celebration one event is less about miracles and more about mess.
La Merengada is a giant food fight with one weapon of choice: meringues. People hurl, splat and crush the sugary treat at one another and then, post-showers and ‘demeringuing’, dinner is ‘xato’ – a Catalonian twist on a tuna salad.
Random, right?
SO WHICH FOOD FESTIVAL WOULD YOU CHOOSE?