Festival 2010
Nowerdays we believe that the term festival refers to that cosy weekend away with our tents and our wellies and a host of acts and bands to sing our little hearts out to. But what if you fancy something completely different?
There's a whole host of weird, wacky and down right bizarre festivals in the world just waiting to be explored, here are a few:
La Tomitina
Standing in the street throwing tomatoes at people sounds like a down market video game right? The town of Valencia, Spain is the setting for this extraordinary festival that it is simply nothing more than the world's greatest food fight.
The last Wednesday of every August sees the town literally painted red by its 30,000 festival visitors, who take no prisoners and pelt each other with the fruit. Afterwards fire trucks hose down the streets and shops remove splattered plastic sheets from their windows. Tomatoes are supplied.
Matchmaking festival
If you're a lonely singleton looking for a sultry Irish heart, then look no further! Although not as weird as one might expect, the festival aims to pair up single people in the small town of Lisdoonvarna, and promises much more than your average internet dating site.
It takes place between the last Friday in August to the first Sunday in October. Oh, and don't forget to bring your running shoes because it now involves a speed dating weekend. (Apologies for the very bad pun).
Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling
This is one that we at FemaleFirst are struggling to grasp, so we are just going to blame its 200-year-old tradition for its bizarre concept. (They didn't have much to do in those days did they?)
Not the most safest of tasks, but every last Monday of May see's grown adults rolling a seven-pound circle of cheese down a giant hill and running after it - the first to the bottom of the hill or to grab the cheese wins.
Judging by the steepness and the conditions of the hill though, most people spend their time rolling, falling and tumbling to the bottom and suffering from serious injuries.
We are thinking that they should all invest in a good bicycle helmit.
Pirate Festival
In mid-November on the Cayman Islands, infant swashbucklers come out to play and carry out a 'surprise' attack on George Town Habour. The pirates are to battle the defenders, capture the governer and throw him in the clink.
It's a ten day programme of music, dances, costumes and games mainly aimed at kids, but it sounds equally as fun to us.
Female First
Jennifer Dixon