What goes through the mind of someone who uses a dead goose to help keep fit? Or even a giant pumpkin and what’s with gravy wrestling? If you are a foodie you may want to look away, but if you find food a fun thing to keep fit with, you may want to take notes.

1. Giant Pumpkin Kayaking
Tualatin, Oregon, USA

Giant Pumpkin Kayaking in Tualatin, Oregon

Photo : www.funnyphotos.net.au

Held in October
Started in 2003, the Annual West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, pits locally grown giant pumpkins in a race around a lake. The event is organised by Carl Switzer, Tualatin’s parks and recreation manager, who estimates that about 2,500 to 3,000 spectators will turn up to watch a day of competitive pumpkin paddling.

Qualifying size for race eligibility is 600 lbs, but most of the giant pumpkins competing in the regatta can weigh in at twice that (the biggest pumpkin was 1408 lbs). Competitors must carve and hollow out their giant pumpkin, get in them, and race them as if they were kayaks. There are three heats, about 12 to 20 racers each, plus a capture-the-flag competition. The race is down to a buoy and back, about a quarter-mile round trip, and the winners generally finish in about 10 minutes.

Racing advise from Switzer : “Once you get used to the tippiness, it’s just a matter of paddling hard and trying not to spin in circles, because pumpkins aren’t really designed to go straight.”

The Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers (PGVG), are the main sponsors behind the West Coast Regatta, and have the honour of being paddlers in the first heat. Once they have competed, they must hand over the pumpkins to new groups of racers, including city staffers and other citizens. Last year, Brett Savage of McMinnville, Oregon defended his title by winning the prestigious growers’ race for the second consecutive year.

After the regatta they head for the local compost heap, but the growers get to keep all the seeds, as some varieties can fetch hundreds of dollars (per seed) in seed auctions.

Official website : www.ci.tualatin.or.us

On how to grow a giant pumpkin : www.pgvg.org and www.bigpumpkins.com

2. Goose Hanging
Lekeitio, Spain

Goose Hanging in Lekeitio, Spain

Photo : www.halohalo.ph

Held in September
The Spaniards are doyens of weird fiestas but the annual “Day of the Goose” in the Basque coastal town of Lekeitio takes some beating, even by Spanish standards. The “Fiesta de los Gansos” dates back at least 350 years, and marks the high point of the week-long San Antolin festival which celebrates the patron saint of this pretty fishing village.

During the festival, a dead goose is suspended from a rope, which is stretched across the harbor and held at both ends. A young man is then rowed up to the bird, launches himself at it, and holds on for dear life. Both ends of the rope are then pulled tight and slackened, which repeatedly propels the man and the bird into the air and then dunks them in the water. To make the job harder, the goose is made slippery by covering it with grease. The idea is to twist or rip the goose’s head off as quickly as possible while coping with the vigorous movements.

In the beginning this weird event was celebrated using living geese, but in recent years they kill the goose before hanging it on the rope.

Information on Lekeitio : www.spain.info

3. Tuna Throwing
Port Lincoln, South Australia

Tuna Throwing, Port Lincoln, Australia

Photo : www.blog.ratestogo.com

Held in January
The Tunarama Festival, otherwise known as the “Tuna Throwing Festival”, takes place in Port Lincoln in South Australia, and is held over the Australia Day weekend. The festival began in 1962, and was intended to promote the emerging tuna fishing industry in Port Lincoln.

How to play – A rope loop is attached to the head of a frozen tuna (weighing up to 22 pounds), then contestants simply grab the rope and throw the fish as far as possible, using a technique akin to an Olympic hammer thrower’s. In fact, ex-Olympic hammer thrower, Sean Carlin, holds the record for the longest tuna toss at 37.23 metres set in 1998. A grand cash prize of $7,000 is given to the winner. Other events include the 3kg Kingfish toss for children aged 11-15, and bizarrely a ‘prawn toss’ for little children.

Merriwyne Hore, the acting manager of the 2008 festival: “What happens when the tuna is tossed, even though it’s frozen solid, it does start to break down. The tail comes off, the fins come off, the eyes fall out and then the underbelly breaks, and, you know, it really gets to be extremely messy.” www.telegraph.co.uk

Talk of substituting the frozen tuna with a fake fish has bitterly divided the tuna-throwing community.

It may also be a rather expensive sport to take up, as a good-sized tuna can fetch up to A$6,000 (€3,600).

For more information and registration details : www.australiaday.org.au
Also : www.about-australia.com

4. Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake
Gloucestershire, UK

Cheese Rolling, Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire, UK

Photo :  www.flickr.com / Mike Warren’s photostream

Held in May

“The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake” is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Copper’s Hill, near Gloucester. It was originally held for the people of Brockworth village, but now people from all over the world take part. The tradition of cheese-rolling at Copper’s Hill is at least 200 years old, and there are suggestions that it may either date back to Roman times or could have been a pagan healing ritual.

The rules of the game are simple, a Double Gloucester cheese is rolled from the top of the hill and competitors must race down the hill after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese, then everyone either goes to the pub or the local hospital. In theory, the competitors aim to catch the cheese, but since it has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 70mph (112 km/h), this rarely occurs.

There are five official downhill races, including one ladies’ race, each involving around 20 competitors who will line-up and anxiously await the master of ceremonies’ commands before setting off. The winner of each race receives a Double Gloucester cheese, supplied by Smart’s Farm, as well as enjoying local and even international fame.

Due to the steepness and uneven surface of the hill there are usually a number of injuries, ranging from sprained ankles to broken bones and concussion. Thankfully, a first aid service is provided by the local St. John Ambulance at the bottom of the hill, as well as a team qualified in cave and mountain rescue who remove casualties from the hill face.

The highest injury toll in recent years occurred in 1997 with 33 competitors being injured, and in 2005 races were delayed as ambulances delivered victims to the local hospital before returning to wait for the next batch of casualties. Spectators have also be known to receive their fair share of injuries from off-course cheeses. So take care!

Official website : www.cheese-rolling.co.uk
For more information : www.wikipedia.org
Suppliers of Double Gloucester Cheese : www.smartsgloucestercheese.com

5. The Battle of the Oranges
Ivrea, Italy

Battle of the Oranges, Ivrea, Italy

Photo : www.flickr.com / A look through lens, Photostream

Held in February

The medieval town of Ivrea, near Turin in Piedmont, comes alive in February with its peculiar traditional carnival. The historic “Battle of the Oranges” commemorates the rebellion of the people against a tyrant, Raineri di Biandrate, who ruled the town in the middle ages. This involves thousands of townspeople, divided into nine combat teams, who throw oranges at each other – with considerable violence – during the traditional carnival days.

The story goes that Raineri gave himself the right to sleep with any bride on her wedding night. But he got his punishment when Violetta, the beautiful daughter of a miller, refused to sleep with him and cut off his head with a dagger. She’s known as the Mugnaia – and is the heroine of the carnival. Today the carriages represent the duke’s guard and the orange throwers the revolutionaries. If participants wear a red hat they are considered part of the revolutionaries and will not have oranges thrown at them.

Before oranges were thrown they used apples. Later, oranges came to represent the duke’s chopped off head. The origin of the tradition to throw oranges is not well understood, particularly as oranges do not grow in the foothills of the Italian Alps and must be imported from Sicily. In 1994 an estimate of 265000 kilograms (580,000 lbs) of oranges were brought to the city.

Official website for Ivrea : www.comune.ivrea.to.it

For more information : www.wikipedia.org

6. La Tomatina
Valencia, Spain

La Tomatina, Valencia, Spain

Photo : www.typicallyspanish.com

Held in August
La Tomatina is held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Bunol in the Valencia region of Spain. Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a brutal battle where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets in exactly one hour. The tomato fight has been a strong tradition in Bunol since 1944 or 1945, but its original meaning remains a complete mystery. Whatever happened to begin the tradition, it was enjoyed so much that it was repeated the next year, and the year after that, and so on.

At the start of the event, trucks haul the bounty of tomatoes into the center of the town, Plaza del Pueblo. The signal for the beginning of the fight is firing of the cannon, and the chaos begins. Once it begins, the battle is generally every man for himself. The standard uniform is an old T-shirt and old shorts (T-shirts with bullseyes printed on them are not recommended).

There are a few safe-guards which all participants must respect and abide by. All tomatoes thrown in the festival must be crushed before being thrown so they can’t hurt anybody. Also recommended is a pair of eye goggles.

Once the food fight has finished, the cleaning process begins. Fire trucks spray down the streets with water, while people then have to find water to wash themselves…… most likely at the Bunol River.

Official festival website : either www.latomatina.org, or www.tomatina.net, or www.latomatina.com???
Official website for Valencia : www.valencia-tourist-travel-guide.com

7. Watermelon Skiing,
Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia

Watermelon Skiing, Chinchilla, Australia

Photo : www.melonfest.com.au

Held in February
The town of Chinchilla is less than 300 kilometres from Brisbane in Queensland, and produces 25% of all the melons sold in Australia. The town celebrates its passion for melons with The Chinchilla Melonfest, held every two years, normally in February (the next is in 2011).

The four-day festival features a range of quirky events including watermelon-skiing, pip spitting, a head-bashing watermelon competition, melon bungee, melon tossing and “melon iron man”.

Watermelon-skiing – Contestants must stick their feet into watermelons sliced in half, and then try to ski down a long tarpaulin slope, made slippery with a mashed-up watermelon pulp. Skiers stand at the beginning of the run, and hold onto a rope which is held by two people standing either side of the tarp. These two players run down the course dragging the watermelon-skier behind them. The person who remains on his feet for the longest distance is the winner.

For more information : www.chinchilla.org.au
For Registration details : www.melonfest.com.au

8. Gravy Wrestling
Stacksteads, Rossendale, UK

Gravy Wrestling, Stacksteads, UK

Photo : www.rossendale.gov.uk

Held in August
The Rose ‘n’ Bowl pub in Stacksteads, Lancashire, hosts the World Gravy Wrestling Championships. Without doubt one the wildest, wackiest challenges ever to grace the hills of Pennine Lancashire. More than 100 people gathered to watch the battle, involving fancy dress, semi-pro wrestling exhibition bouts, and big screen action. Three judges are on hand to oversee that competitors fought fair as they wrestled in 2,000 litres (440 gallons) of out-of-date gravy – the equivalent to 40,000 portions. Carol Lowe, 37, landlady of the pub, said: “We normally have to make the gravy ourselves, which is a bit of a nightmare, but this year Bisto stepped in.

Joel Hicks, aka “Stone Cold Steve Bisto” was winner of the men’s world championship in 2009. The 30-year-old barrister said: “It is a bit crazy, it is the third time I have done this event, so to finally win it is fantastic.”

Emma Slater, 23, from Oldham, won the women’s bout dressed as Mrs Christmas. She said: “I didn’t register until the last minute because I was only meant to be holding up the cards at the end of each round, so it has all come as a big surprise.”

Fire crews from the Bacup Fire Station were called in to “hose down” the 16 participants after their bouts in the wrestling ring.

All the proceeds are going to East Lancashire Hospice.

Official website : www.rosenbowl.co.uk/gravy
Supplies of Bisto Gravy : www.aahnight.co.uk

9. Flour Fight
Galaxidi, Greece

Flour Fight, Galaxidi, Greece

Photo : www.flickr.com / Terry Stone’s photostream

Held in February
Every year in the Greek port town of Galaxidi, located some 200 kilometers west of Athens, people come from far and wide mark the end of carnival season and the beginning of Greek Orthodox Lent by celebrating “Clean Monday”. This actually becomes a rather dirty affair as participants embark on a giant flour fight, throwing over 3,000 pounds of flour at one another.

The flour fight dates back to the very beginning of the 19th century, when villagers began celebrating Carnival in defiance of the Ottoman occupiers. They painted their faces with ash and danced in decorous circles, one for women, one for men. Now the fun is co-ed and the flour throwing non-discriminating. Locals dye bag upon bag of flour with food coloring and paint their faces with charcoal.

On the day itself, the ringing of cowbells marks the start of the war. Villagers, joined by out-of-towners, are split into two gangs who fight it out with coloured flour bombs in the centre of Galaxidi. People wear rags, surgical masks, goggles and overalls. Afterwards, there is hardly a carnival-goer not covered from head to toe in flour. Many jump into the sea to wash off….. prior to a long evening out in the town’s tavernas.

By the time the day comes to an end, the town is covered in sticky, brightly colored flour, and officials say it takes weeks to clean up the town.

Official website : www.galaxidi.gr
For travel information : www.visitgreece.gr

10. Bull Running
Pamplona, Spain

Bull Running, Pamplona, Spain

Photo : www.flickr.com / enekajimenez1977′s photostream

Held in July
Every year thousands pack into Pamplona to start Spain’s most famous bull-running fiesta to honour Navarre capital’s patron saint, San Fermin. The tradition is said to have come from practicality when, in 1591 residents had to herd the bulls to the bull-fighting arena.

The Pamplona bull run takes place at 8am every morning from 7th to 14th July. The actual run stretches from the corral at Santo Domingo where the bulls are kept, to the bullring where they will fight that same afternoon. The length of the run is 825 metres and the average time of the run from start to finish is about three minutes. The streets through the old town which make up the bull run are walled off so the bulls can’t escape. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a person to slip through, but narrow enough to block a bull. Each day six fighting bulls run the route as well as two herds of bullocks.

There are about 2,000 competitors on weekdays and almost 3,500 at weekends. Runners dress in the traditional clothing which consists of a white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief. In one hand, they hold the day’s newspaper rolled to draw the bulls’ attention from them if necessary. Minutes prior to the run, local runners invoke the Saint to ask for his protection. They do this in front of a niche located at the beginning of the hill of Santo Domingo, waving a newspaper in their hands. The song is sung three times.

A first rocket is set off to alert the runners that the corral gate is open. A second rocket signals that all six bulls and six steers have been released. The runners dash along in front of the bulls, aiming to get as close as possible, whilst trying to avoid getting gored by their sharp horns. The third and fourth rockets are signals of all the herd entering the bullring and its corral respectively, marking the end of the event.

Every year between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run, although most injuries are cuts and grazes due to falls and are not serious. Since 1910, 15 people have been killed in Pamplona.

These bulls are reared especially for the bull ring. After the bullfight the carcass is cut up, and the meat can be given to charity or it can be sold off. It is highly thought of and regarded as the finest beef that money can buy.

Official website : www.pamplona.es
More information : www.bullrunning.info