Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals
mess festivalsWhere else can you let your hair down, get slathered in muck, whack a stranger with a pillow, hurl rotten fruit and rubbish at someone ….and still walk away scot-free?
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
boryeongBoryeong Mud Festival, South Korea (July) – Come summer, the Daecheon beach area bursts into a chaotic and mucky mud celebration. Be a child all over again – dunk yourself in mud pools, tumble down mud slides and mud wrestle with friends. Or if you prefer extreme, get crawling in a military-style training camp led by a drill Sergeant. mudfestival.or.kr [Photo: Hypnotica Studios Infinite/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
bodypaintingWorld Bodypainting Festival, Austria (July) – If you aren’t one to scoff at Budgie Smugglers and exposed breasts, join in a paint mess of the artistic kind – witness world famous bodypainting artists in action, appreciate their art works, participate in bodypainting workshops, get dyed in fluorescent hues, mingle with models and groove to the best music from noon to night. So cool. bodypainting-festival.com [Photo: Daniel Janesch]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
berlinWasserschlacht, Germany (Late July/August) – It’ll be messy mayhem at the Oberbaumbrücke Bridge as residents of Berlin’s formerly separate Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain pound each other with water and vegetables – even rotten food and rubbish – to determine who will be king of the unified district. Don’t expect to return unscathed – the show continues until everyone is soaking wet and dirty. Advisory: Festivities have a tendency to get out of hand; go at your own risk. [Photo: Brillen Krille/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
bogWorld Bog Snorkelling Championships, Wales (August) – Get down and dirty in a bizarre but brilliant charity race held in Llanwrtyd Wells, where you’re required to swim up and down a murky trench cut through a weed-infested bog wearing flippers, goggles and snorkel. Just remember to keep your mouth tightly closed throughout. worldalternativegames.co.uk [Photo: Visit Britain/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
tomatinaLa Tomatina, Spain (August) – Don’t miss the world-famous tomato-throwing festival in Valencia this summer. It’s sheer excitement from start to finish, with revellers pelting each other with more than 100 tonnes of overripe fruit. Expect chaos, crowds and street parties in the central district and adjoining lanes, and be prepared to have your T-shirt smudged with tomato paste. tomatina.es [Photo: shortCHINESEguy/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
feriaFeria De Cascamorras, Spain (September) – If waging a battle with edibles isn’t motivating enough, consider participating in an out-an-out filthy war combining paint, tar, oil and eggs. Chase ‘Cascamorras’ from Guadix as he and his men stage an attempt to recover the statue of the Virgen de la Piedad from neighbouring Baza locals, and get stained in the process – a perfect excuse to mess up that gaudy gift shirt from last Christmas. spain.info[Photo: Fermín R.F./Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
colour runThe Colour Run 5K Tropicolor World Tour, Global (Various Dates) – Run, walk, dance, skip, hop or jump to music all the way to the finish – just wear a white tee at the start and get completely plastered in colour by volunteers who’ll blitz you at 1km intervals. There’s a new tropicolour zone and a larger-than-life party at the end filled with music, dancing and massive colour throws. thecolorrun.com [Photo: Bill Dickinson/Flickr, Scooter Lowrimore/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
merengadaLa Merengada, Spain (February) – What started out as a mark of protest against a carnival prohibition in the ‘40s is now a gluttonous annual dessert-flinging fight on Fat Thursday of the Carnavale de Vilanova i La Geltrú in Catalonia, involving meringue, cream and pie. And when the meringue is over, the candy comes out, bringing kids in. carnavaldevilanova.cat [Photo: Brad Erikson/Wikimedia Commons]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
greeceGalaxidi Flour Festival, Greece (February) – Insane, blizzardy, exuberant: this is Greece’s biggest coloured-flour-throwing fest held in the harbour town of Galaxidi on Clean Monday, marking the start of Greek Orthodox Lent. Don’t want to get flour-faced but want the fun nonetheless? There’s plenty of room to watch the festivities and enjoy the humour from afar. event-carnival.com [Photo: SleEEpinGBeaUty /Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
entroidoEntroido de Laza, Spain (February) – Crazy but light-hearted revelry with men in masks sporting colourful costumes raiding the Galician streets, followed by Farrapada – a war with mud, ash and dirt (often spiked with vinegar and live fire ants) will literally have you hopping up and down with joy and pain in the Spanish town of Laza on Luns de Entroido. Be warned. laza.info [Photo: IES Leixa/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
battagliaLa Battaglia Delle Arance, Italy (February) – Be part of a liberating and competitive citrusy skirmish in Northern Italy, where revellers in nine groups hurl oranges against opponents, recreating a historic rebellion by commoners against a tyrant ruler. TIP: If you intend to be on the battleground, wear protective gear. storicocarnevaleivrea.it [Photo: Maurizio Gjivovich]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
holiHoli, India (March) – Colour, culture and camaraderie combine at India’s festival of colours in spring. Get doused in gulal and magical pigments, engage in water battles, participate in boisterous music and dance, and get high on cannabis-spiked delicacies at the close of the open-air festivities post-noon. holifestival.org [Photo: Pabak Sarkar/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
pillowInternational Pillow Fight Day, Europe/North America (April) – In the mood to engage in some silly fun or to bust some stress? Head to a participating city and join in an old fashioned fluff-and-feathers pillow flight. There are rules, however: when the horn blows, only strike fellow pillow-wielding participants (sparing photographers), use soft pillows and don’t swing too hard. pillowfightday.com [Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Rodolphe Breard]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
songkranSongkran, Thailand (April) – Beat the heat: succumb to water battles and get drenched when the Thai New Year celebrations are on in full swing during the scorching summer. You won’t just be accosted by pedestrians armed with water pistols or buckets – pick-up trucks and scooters are just as notorious for showering unsuspecting bystanders with ice-cold water. songkran2015.com [Photo: Adrian Oliver/Flickr, Sano Rin/Flickr]
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
glastonburyGlastonbury Music Festival, England (June) – Muddy fields galore and music madness it will be at England’s best-known music festival, so wear your wellies and make sure to leave your best clothes behind. The end is usually marked by the venue morphing into a vast mud bath with visitors sploshing about, surfing around and smearing one another. Not icky, just plain wacky. glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
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Events
The World’s 15 Messiest Festivals.
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