valenciablogger | 
03 27th, 2009| 
Are you a garlic lover? Do you like water pistol fights? Or maybe you have even dreamed of moose droppings falling from heaven. If so, perhaps you’ve finally found your place in the world! All this and more is being held / honoured / celebrated in one of the most unusual festivals in the world. And you thought that the people of your own country had eccentric habits?
It’s the same the world over, and whoever says otherwise is telling lies! The world, in its magnitude, is rather strange. Here are some of the most extravagant festivals:
1. Kanamara Matsuri Festival (Komaki, Japan)
Every year at this time Japanese people worship the penis in one of the most curious festivals in the world. During March, the virile member is worshiped as if it were Buddha in the small town of Kokami – the Japanese have always thought that the penis is sacred. For around 1,500 years, they have carried phallic sculptures in processions between the flashes of the tourist’s cameras and the locals praying in the temples. Everything began with the story of a demon that possessed a woman who castrated two men. To solve it, a blacksmith forged a huge iron penis to break the demon’s teeth. This event takes on huge dimensions. Thousands of people come to celebrate it and everything is turned into a penis: from the hot dogs, which are cut into penis shapes, to the penis souvenirs or the Buddha figures that embrace gigantic penises.
2. Garlic Festival (Gilroy, California)
There once was a doctor called Rudy Melone, a Californian resident, who insisted on turning his town into the Garlic Capital, rather like a small French village. Thus, the Garlic Festival was born in July, with the heat, and where the “garlic god” is venerated. Everything is made of garlic and this is the perfect festival for cast-iron noses and stomachs. Do you feel hungry? No problem: eat some soup, a sandwich, a pizza or a pie, all made of garlic, because you will not find anything else here! And do not forget to wear your most comfortable shoes, because a band will play music dedicated to the humble garlic. In addition, painters and sculptors will present their works made of garlic too. Don’t forget to bring back a garlic painting as a souvenir!
3. Moose Dropping Festival (Talkeetna, Alaska)
Perhaps this is the most disgusting festival of all time. It seems that in Alaska, where moose proliferate, their droppings are piled high and they don’t know what to do with them. Therefore, in a town called Talkeetna they have created this festival, where the moose droppings are thrown from the air in balloons. But that’s not all: there are organized moose dropping battles, there is jewellery designed with its manure and there a competition held where the winner. The person who becomes the most covered in moose excrement wins 1,000 euros. Do you dare?
4. Songkran Festival (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
It is clear that Thailand is a unknown country for us. But it was an absolute mystery for us that it has a huge passion for water. The Thai people have a healthy habit of starting the year with an extraordinary water pistol fight to cleanse their souls. This is not a simple battle among a few friends. About 100,000 people join together to drench each other with any water-filled device: from balloons, to buckets, hoses or the classic water pistols. Does this encourage you to wet yourself?
5. ‘Tomatina’ Festival (Buñol, Spain)
Every year the world-famous Tomatina is celebrated in Valencia. More than 40,000 people throw more than 100,000 kilos of tomatoes in a pitched battle between residents and tourists. This festival has become one of the most popular festivals in the world. What better way to return to childhood than throwing food at a stranger’s face? And this time without reprimand! If you want to participate in the tomato festival, travel to Buñol and rent apartments in Valencia. You’ll need a shower afterwards!
