The term 'cucumber season' describes the peak of the summer season, when there is a significant decrease in government, cultural, and media activity. Indeed, the summer days are considered 'dryer' days, lacking major sporting and cultural events. Nevertheless, some of the world's strangest festivals take place during this period, and their great popularity attracts many tourists from all over the globe. Here is a partial list.
La Tomato Festival
In Spain, there is a small town called Bunol. This town, which resembles a neighborhood, has a total population of 9,000. However, in the coming month, tens if not hundreds of thousands of tourists are planning to visit the site. The reason: the Tomato Festival.
What is this strange festival? As its name suggests, the festival revolves around the familiar red vegetable axis. Tens of thousands of people arrive in the city center where dozens of huge trucks loaded with tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of tomatoes await them.
People arrive dressed in old clothes and durable plastic glasses, and suddenly the celebration begins. They throw tomatoes at each other for a whole day in what becomes the world's largest food war.
As a result of the ongoing war on ketchup, all the houses in the city are painted red and a river of tomato juice flows through the streets. The small town has become one of the most recognizable cities in the world thanks to this strange festival.
Tunaharem Festival
An equally strange festival is held in the city of Port Lincoln, Australia. During the event, locals, as well as the many tourists, compete to see who can throw tuna the farthest.
Crowds flock to this bizarre festival, and it turns out that its growing success every year also translates into the success of the small town it is held in. Over the years, local residents have purchased new homes and the economy, in a clear linear curve, has flourished there since the event began.
Mud Festival
The Mud Festival takes place in the city of Boryeong, South Korea. Throughout the event, the many visitors wallow in the mud, play in it, and take mud baths.
How many come to Boryang to experience the dubious pleasure? It turns out that no fewer than two million visitors. A similar festival is held in Belgium, except that there the participants hold boat racing competitions in the mud.
Pillow Festival
In Kenwood, California, there is a Pillow Festival, or in other words: a Pillow Fight. Sound familiar from your childhood? But this festival is mostly attended by adults.
It turns out that the masses want to come to a city where they can throw pillows at each other without being considered childish.
The reviews
Apart from the criticism that is expected according to the Jewish concept that considers playing with food and animals an offense of 'tashachit' and 'despicable eating' that occurs at tomato and fish festivals, there are also quite a few claims from various parties seeking to eradicate the overwhelming phenomenon. In Spain, some residents complain that they are forced to repaint their houses, and in general, the cleaning work required in the days after the festival is not worth the income from it.
The tuna festival is criticized for reducing the number of tuna in the sea. The huge amount of fish used in the competition thins the fish population. In California, locals complain that traffic becomes cumbersome during wartime, and there is no reason for them to stand in traffic jams just because a few adults want to go back to their childhood.
Either way, the phenomenon of 'weird festivals' is only gaining momentum, as David Wiese writes in his book Real Reading, and small towns seeking to generate revenue are adopting the idea, and each year re-formulating the bizarre festival that must be more sensational than the previous one.
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