16 Strangest Food Festivals in the World

Food festivals in the USA scream summer fun with friendly crowds, plates piled high with delicious food, and enough iced tea to keep you cool for hours. It’s pure, unadulterated fun. As a San Diego resident living just over the border from Mexico, the taco festivals here are some of the best in the world. 

But food festivals worldwide aren’t just a summer thing—they span the globe year-round, with some landing squarely in the realm of the bizarre. From daring delicacies to downright weird eats, these festivals push culinary boundaries. Often rooted in deep cultural traditions, they celebrate unique heritages in unexpected ways. Here are some of the weirdest, wackiest food fests on the planet!

1. Bug Fest 

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Let’s face it—bugs aren’t on most people’s menus, but BugFest aims to change that! Every September at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, this festival highlights insects’ delicious potential. With entomologists on hand to educate and Café Insecta offering an all-you-can-eat bug buffet, it’s an adventure for your taste buds. All it takes is a courageous heart and a strong stomach!

2. Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry

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Rocky Mountain Oysters are not the familiar seafood that the name would suggest. If you don’t know what this unique food item really is, do a quick search–you’re in for a shock! For over 30 years, visitors have flocked to Virginia City, Nevada, to taste this special dish, which, despite its appearance, tastes surprisingly like fried chicken thanks to its breading.

Though its raw form is soft and rubbery, the fried version delivers a surprisingly enjoyable flavor, making it a one-of-a-kind culinary experience.

3. Pateros Balut Festival 

Balut in a red bowl
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This might seem strange to some, but for Filipinos, balut is a beloved (and supposedly aphrodisiac) street food enjoyed for its unique flavor and texture. Seeing a little chick inside the egg can be a little creepy for those unfamiliar with balut.

Eating it traditionally involves cracking it open, sprinkling it with salt, and slurping down the contents, including the chick! This festival in Pateros, the “Balut Capital” of the Philippines, happens in late March or early April. Ready for a taste sensation and a bit of a surprise?

4. Phuket Vegetarian Festival 

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The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is more than just tofu and kale– it’s a whole other kind of adventure! Every September or October, this wild festival transforms Phuket, Thailand, with nine days of vibrant parades and delicious vegetarian food.

But that’s not all! Devotees refrain from eating meat, making love, lying, and killing to purify their bodies, but the festival is infamous for extreme self-mortifications like body piercings and walking on hot coals. They believe this will make them divine and more connected to the Nine Emperor Gods.

5. Cheese Rolling Festival 

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Imagine a giant wheel of cheese, a ridiculously steep hill, and a bunch of fearless (or maybe adventurous) people chasing it down. That’s the Cheese Rolling Festival! The festival takes place every Spring Bank Holiday in England, at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire.

Once the cry of “Roll that cheese!” rings out, a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese (about 7 lbs!) gets a head start rolling down the hill. The first person to cross the finish line with the cheese wins… the cheese! This festival event wasn’t called Gloucestershire’s most extreme ‘sport’ for nothing.

6. Hokitika Wildfoods Food Festival 

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This is no ordinary food festival! Held every March in Hokitika, New Zealand, the Wildfoods Festival is a one-stop shop for thrill-seekers. This festival is famous for its bizarre delicacies, like huhu grubs (insect larvae), worm truffles (exactly what it sounds like!), and even sheep parts (affectionately called “mountain oysters”).

Open to everyone; the festival also offers familiar options like wild boar and whitebait fritters. Whether you’re daring or just curious, there’s something wild for you to try!

7. Monkey Buffet Festival

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This festival flips the script on traditional food festivals by making monkeys the VIPs! Every last Sunday of November, the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi, Thailand, transforms into a monkey paradise, with furry friends feasting on fruits, veggies, and sweets.

The festival kicks off with dancers dressed as monkeys, followed by a grand buffet where the monkeys go wild. Locals and tourists offer food to the macaques, believed to be descendants of Hanuman, for fortune and prosperity.

8. Olney Pancake Race 

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The Olney Pancake Race is a truly one-of-a-kind food festival that’s more about speed than spillage. Here, the ladies of Olney, England, compete in a 415-yard dash while flipping pancakes! Dressed in skirts, aprons, and headscarves, they must flip their pancakes at the starting bell and again at the finish line to win.

This yearly event takes place on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent. So, mark your calendars for February or March to witness this quirky celebration.

9. Night of the Radishes 

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Imagine a Christmas market unlike any other. Instead of gingerbread houses, you see intricate nativity scenes and fantastical creatures – all carved from radishes! That’s the magic of the Night of the Radishes (Noche de los Rabanos) in Oaxaca, Mexico. Every December, Oaxaca City’s main square transforms into a radish wonderland.

Artists race against time (and radish browning!) to carve astonishing sculptures. Categories range from nativity scenes to historical figures and even pop culture icons! Be sure to witness the finished artworks early to see the radishes in their full glory.

10. Herring Festival 

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This Danish festival celebrates the herring haul with a quirky twist. The Hvide Sande Herring Festival is all about honoring fishermen. Here, the most skilled herring fishermen aren’t just judged by their catch but by their singing, dancing, and storytelling talents.

The record catch of 1.467 kg of herring, set in 1999, and the feat of 313 herring caught in an hour are still unbeaten. For an entertaining experience, visit in April to meet the fishermen and hear their tales!

11. St. Moritz Gourmet Festival 

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Switzerland is known as a luxurious winter wonderland, but instead of just skiing, this fest treats you to a 10-day extravaganza of gourmet food prepared by the world’s most celebrated chefs.

Held in late January or early February, the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival showcases Michelin-starred chefs preparing exquisite meals, along with workshops and champagne receptions.

For its 30th anniversary in 2024, the festival featured a world-first collaboration of ten three-star chefs. It’s a foodie’s dream amid stunning snowy peaks!

12. Salon du Chocolat 

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It’s not every day you see a fashion show with dresses made of chocolate, right? That’s the magic of Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France– a festival that turns chocolate into art.

From jewel-like truffles to stunning sculptures, it’s a sweet extravaganza you won’t want to miss. Held every late October or early November, it’s Paris’s ultimate chocolate dream come true!

13. Texas Hot Sauce Festival 

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For me, dousing everything in hot sauce isn’t exactly strange, but in Texas, they take their spice to a new level. This festival throws taste buds into a loop! The Texas Hot Sauce Festival serves as a promotion ground for starting business owners.

Sample hundreds of hot sauces from around the country, each one hotter than the last (or so it seems!). There’s live music to keep the energy up, workshops to teach you how to make your own spicy creations, and even contests to see who can handle the heat the best. Don’t miss out on the spicy jam and jellies! 

14. Chinchilla Melon Festival 

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Ever skied on watermelons? In Chinchilla, Queensland, the “Melon Capital of Australia,” you can! This small town hosts a four-day festival every February with fun games like melon bungee jumping and watermelon art contests. With over 20,000 visitors joining the 7,000 locals, it’s a juicy extravaganza where everyone is welcome!

15. La Tomatina 

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Food fight! Imagine a giant, messy food fight where everyone throws squishy tomatoes at each other! That’s La Tomatina, a wild Spanish festival that might just be the strangest (and most fun) food festival in the world. The party starts with a greased pole climbing contest. Once someone reaches the top, the tomato battle begins! Trucks unload over 100,000 kilos of tomatoes, and for an hour, it’s every person for themself in a hilarious tomato fight.

The party takes place on the last Wednesday of August in Buñol, a town near Valencia, Spain. Tickets are required to limit the crowd. So, if you want to join the tomato-tossing fun, plan ahead and grab your tickets–and prepare to get dirty!

16. Giant Omelette Celebration 

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Get ready to crack a smile (and a few dozen eggs) at the Giant Omelette Celebration in Bessières, France! Every Easter Monday, the town whips up a massive omelet in a giant pan big enough to feed thousands. It’s a fun community event with mountains of eggs and giant cookware, celebrating delicious food and a touch of Napoleon’s legacy. This festival is a culinary spectacle you won’t want to miss!

Which of these festivals would you want to visit?

A group of friends joyfully holds up slices of pizza together at a lively food festival during the evening.

Share with us in the comments!

Author: Hannah Healy

Title: Writer

Expertise: Travel, Food, Wellness

Hannah is the published author of The Ultimate Paleo Cookbook and an avid writer in the health, entertainment, travel, and personal finance spheres. She is also the owner and founder of Healy Eats Real, a health and wellness website providing recipes and wellness information for over ten years. Her work has been featured on Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Redbook, Fitness, and MSN.

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