One of the best ways to immerse yourself in the cultural delights of a travel destination is by participating in a local festival. Myriad festivals are held annually all across the country that offer attendees plenty of reasons to come together and celebrate as a community. Many of these festivals have emerged from traditional customs or just a sheer enthusiasm for food, art, film and music. And some of these annual events are so unique or quirky that you never would’ve even thought they existed.
We’ve compiled a list of some funny festivals that should be on your travel radar. Consider adding them to your itinerary if you’re traveling to these places around that time of year, and you’re guaranteed to return with a novel festival experience you'll want to tell stories about for years to come.
Every year since 1963 the scenic ski town of Breckenridge, Colorado, has gathered to embrace the spirit of winter and honor the Norse god of snow at Ullr Fest. This family-friendly celebration of all things snow is a multiday event that takes place every December or January in downtown Breckenridge. Locals and visitors alike gather to celebrate the beginning of winter and the ski season with games, parties and wacky traditions.
According to local legends, Ullr loved cold weather and exploring the land on his grand skis for pleasure and hunting. To protect the Earth from harm, Ullr covered the Earth with a fresh blanket of snow each winter. His travels ultimately led him to Breckenridge, and Ullr Fest was born as a way for locals to praise Ullr for blessing Breckenridge with some of the finest snow worldwide.
Some of the festival highlights include the Ullr Fest Parade down Main Street, the Ullr Bonfire, the International Snow Sculpture Championships and the Shotski World Record Attempt. Interestingly, Breckenridge holds the unofficial world record for the largest number of people taking a shotski at the same time. From horned Viking hats adorning the heads of skiers and snowboarders to retiring Christmas trees in the bonfire, Ullr Fest is a truly community-oriented winter party unlike any other.
And for even more whimsical winter fun, you can join the hundreds of Santa look-alikes running down Main Street on the first Saturday of December at The Race of the Santas.
Divers, snorkelers and music enthusiasts come to Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys every July to jam out at the Underwater Music Festival. This ocean celebration features preselected radio playlists and ocean-themed songs streaming live from underwater speakers. Musician-divers play marine-themed whimsical instruments such as the “trom-bonefish” as costumed mermaids swim along the reef. The audience can enjoy aquatic tunes like the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden” and the soundtrack from “The Little Mermaid” in a completely ethereal way because sound travels 4.3 times faster in water than in air.
While the festival’s main purpose is to raise awareness for coral reef preservation and eco-conscious diving, it also offers a bucket-list concert experience where you get to feel the music using all of your senses underwater in North America’s only living coral barrier reef.
The Trailing of the Sheep Festival is a celebration of sheep ranching and the historic sheepherding culture in the Sun Valley region of Idaho. This annual fall festival offers five days of family-friendly events that are equal parts entertaining and educational. The centerpiece is the famously funny Big Sheep Parade in downtown Ketchum, where you can witness 1,500 sheep “trailing” down Main Street as part of their annual migration to winter pastures. Other festival highlights include the Championship Sheepdog Trials, a storytelling Sheeptales Gathering, Wool Fest and watching multicultural performers at the Folklife Fair.
It’s almost too perfect and hilarious that the annual Twin Days Festival is held on the first weekend of August in Twinsburg, Ohio. Since its genesis in 1976, this festival has celebrated the special bond between biological twins and other multiples. Twin Days is recognized for being the largest annual gathering of twins worldwide, attracting thousands of registered sets of twins and multiples dressed in matching outfits. There’s even a scientific element to this gathering as members of the research community attend every year to conduct voluntary twin studies on the genetic and non-genetic components of a wide array of human traits. Some highlights include an appropriately named Double Take Parade, fireworks and contests.
As one of the largest gatherings of partygoers consuming bull testicles, Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “have a ball.” Known as the “testicle festival,” this wacky St. Patrick’s Day celebration is one of the funniest annual events in Virginia City, Nevada, and features a parade, costume contests and music.
Cooks compete for prizes by serving up their most creative dishes that feature land oysters prepared in an astounding variety of ways -- fried, smoked, grilled, in chili, in egg rolls, in sandwiches and even in a taco. After getting your fill, wash down those oysters and join the Ball Breaker Saloon Crawl for a tour of this historic mining town’s quaint saloons.
