There are plenty of food and drink festivals around the world, and no matter what you like to eat and drink – a festival that would suit your taste is very likely to exist. In this article we present you some of the craziest food and drink festivals in Europe, which do not only serve to satisfy your taste buds, but also your desire for great fun.
La Tomatina (Buñol, Spain) – as you can guess from the name, this festival is dedicated to tomatoes. But it is not about eating them – it is about throwing them! This festival is held every last Wednesday of August near Valencia, in a small town named Buñol, and it is known as the world’s biggest food fight. The tickets for the event are sold online and since 2013 they have been limited to the number of 20,000, while before that it happened that the festival had between 40,000 and 50,000 visitors.
Ivrea Orange Festival (Ivrea, Italy) – while people throw tomatoes in Spain, it the town of Ivrea in Italy they fight with oranges. Carnevale di Ivrea is the largest food fight in Italy, and unlike La Tomatina, it is very structured, organized, and people fight in teams. It is held during the traditional carnival days in February – Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Batalla de Vino (Haro, La Rioja, Spain) – Batalla de Vino or Wine Fight is held every year from June 28 to June 30, and it begins with street parties on the first festival day and night. After this, locals and tourists climb a mountain 5 km away from the town, where there are water trucks, water pistols, barrels and buckets – all filled with wine! People cover each other with wine, drink some of it as well and they dance to music until wee hours.
Pumpkin Festival (Ludwigsburg, Germany) – This festival is held every year in Ludwigsburg, a town near Stuttgart, and it is home to over 400,000 pumpkins. The date varies, but it is always held in fall, and in 2016 the festival will take place from September 2 to November 6. There are all sorts of pumpkin art, pumpkin food you cannot even imagine, and various competitions for children and adults, such as pumpkin carving. For those who like eating pumpkins and carving them for Halloween, the world’s largest pumpkin festival is certainly going to be an event of interest.
Cheese Rolling (Gloucestershire, UK) – this interesting event takes place on every Spring Bank Holiday and it is held on Cooper’s Hill near the town of Gloucestershire. It is a sort of a race, where a round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled down the hill, and the participants begin racing down the hill after it in order to catch it. Although it is a quite fun event, attracting both locals and tourists, the cheese can speed up to 112 km/h, which can cause injuries and knock the spectators over.
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