Daily Times

Hundreds of festivals take place yearly across the globe, and for food-lovers, above all, the possibilities are endless.

Depending on what your favourite dish or cuisine might be, or what level of seriousness you’re looking for, there’s likely at least one festival that will suit you perfectly somewhere around the globe. If you like munching on bugs, you’ll have to make it to New Zealand for the Wildfoods Festival or to North Carolina for the Bug Fest. If competitions are more your thing, then Cheese Rolling in England and the Night of Radishes in Mexico are a couple of strangely specific festivals you’ll enjoy.

This year, make an effort to step outside your comfort zone and try one of the world’s wackiest food festivals.

Bug Fest – Raleigh, NC: America has its own fascination with bugs. North Carolina hosts the BugFest every year where people come out to learn about the world of bugs and chow down on some crunchy crawlers. The event is free with more than 100 exhibits and activities to enjoy, as well as the chance to chat with scientists. Local chefs create dishes with bugs at Café Insecta; last year’s theme was ants.

Cheese Rolling – Gloucestershire, England: Chase your nine-pound wheel of cheese down Cooper’s Hill to win the Cheese Rolling competition in England. The event takes place yearly on the Spring Bank Holiday, which is the last Monday in May. Since 2013, however, there has been no management of the event due to safety concerns, so if you go, it’s at your own risk.

Chinchilla Melon Festival – Chinchilla, Australia: Australia’s “Melon Capital” of Chinchilla puts on the Chinchilla Melon Festival biennially to honour their title. The event takes place from February 16-19, with all sorts of watermelon games such as melon skiing, melon-eating competitions, melon bungee jumping, and a melon ironman circuit competition.

Humongous Fungus Festival – Crystal Falls, Michigan: The name says it all. This odd festival is dedicated to one delicious fungus: the mushroom. Home to the world’s largest mushroom, Crystal Falls, Michigan, celebrates it with the Humongous Fungus Festival for three days every August. The event hosts a Fungus Fest Parade, fireworks display, various sports tournaments, and the festival’s star attraction, the Humongous Pizza. At 10 feet wide, this pizza is the world’s largest mushroom pizza.

La Tomatina – Buñol, Spain: A huge tomato fight breaks out yearly in the town of Buñol in the Spanish province of Valencia. This annual spectacle takes place on the last Wednesday in August, and you’ll definitely want to join in on the fun at least once. La Tomatina is considered the world’s largest food fight.

Night of Radishes – Oaxaca, Mexico: In Oaxaca, Mexico, there is a festival dedicated to carving radishes called Noche de Rábanos, or “Night of Radishes.” During this event, detailed scenes are carved out of over-sized radishes and then submitted into a contest. You’ll see carvings of everything from saints to animals at this event, which takes place each year on December 23.

Waikiki SPAM Jam – Honolulu: Hawaiians love spam so much that there’s a festival dedicated to the luncheon meat in Honolulu. Waikiki SPAM Jam is a street festival that has become a tradition in Hawaii, with live entertainment and some of the finest restaurants in Honolulu making Spam dishes in every way imaginable. The festival will take place at the end of April this year.

Wildfoods Festival – Hokitika, New Zealand: For those willing to try any dish at least once, the Wildfoods Festival is an event you can’t miss.