Guest post form Kate Smedley who asks: “Is it me or is the world getting stranger?”

Gurning competitions, worm charming and that strangest activity of all, morris dancing. My hitherto normal neighbor is going cheese rolling in the spring. Cheese rolling? I thought a cheese roll was something you had for lunch? Wrong again!

I’ve had enough of these strange British habits, it’s adventure holidays across the pond this year. Plenty of options to find sanity. Or so I thought. Our American cousins aren’t all that normal either. Take a look at these festivals and you’ll see what I mean.

St Stupid’s Day, San Francisco

The 34th annual festival of St Stupid will take place as always on 1st April. Founded by Ed Holmes – otherwise known as Bishop Joey of the First Church of the Last Laugh  – I am not making this up – this annual festival parades through the streets of San Francisco (wasn’t that an old TV series starring Peter Falk?!) Participants are encouraged to dress up in the most ridiculous costumes they can think of.

Think jester, think bubble suit, think doggie diners… think daft! If it sounds ideal for you, learn a bit of ‘stupid speak’ first, then see a doctor.  Practice the Sayings of Stupid until they trip off your tongue ‘The Tree of Life is full of limbs’, ‘so far, so what’ and ‘how time flies when you’re the janitor’. Off you go, have fun!

Headless Chicken Festival, Colorado

Never mind the perpetual rooster/Peter Griffin fights in the TV series Family Guy. If Peter Griffin had encountered the rooster who inspired this annual festival, he’d be toast. Or barbequed chicken.

Mike (yes, Mike) the Chicken’s story takes us back to September 10th 1945. Fred Olsen was dispatched by his wife Clara to find a rooster suitable for her mother-in-law’s dinner and duly decapitated Mike. Except Mike didn’t die. Headless Mike survived for another 18 months due to some bizarre twist of fate that meant his jugular vein wasn’t severed and most of his brain remained in his body – and most of his head remained in a jar. Mike flourished and lived out his life happily, feted wherever he went. In May every year, thousands flock to the annual chicken festival held in his name.  From chicken dances to 5k ‘Run Like a Headless Chicken’ races Mike’s indomitable spirit lives on! Let’s head out there! Er, see what I did there?!

Frozen Dead Guy Days, Colorado

Staying in Colorado and on the theme of things that aren’t properly dead, this festival celebrates the continual cryogenic freezing of one Norwegian Bredo Morstoel who died in 1989. To cut a long story short, Bredo wasn’t buried, he was frozen. After a four year stay packed in liquid nitrogen in California, Bredo reached his current resting place in Nederland, Colorado, close to his family. His sarcophagus is lovingly tended to every month by a group of volunteers. These ‘ice men’ pack him safely in 1600 pounds of dry ice until the science of cryonics catches up with him. Every year, in his honour, the people of Nederland celebrate with a weekend of coffin racing, brain freeze contents, the parade of hearses, the frozen salmon toss and many other weird and wonderful activities to wish Bredo happy – er – almost dead-day.

Testicle Festivals

This was enough to end my search for weird and wonderful festivals Stateside. Starting with the famous Testicle Festival of Montana, these things are everywhere, from Illinois to Montana to California and beyond. It’s a growing trend to spend a weekend eating the aforesaid items, normally previously attached to bulls. Enough already!

Guest post form Kate Smedley who concluded: “While I’m pondering my holiday choice I’ve decided if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. I’m off bog snorkeling in the not too distant future. Well, come on, it could be worse. Somehow I get the feeling I might be looking through the singles holidays websites instead of the adventure holidays travel websites sometime so.