Strange celebrations

Odd Festivals

Celebrations, contests, gatherings, and traditions that could only happen here.

67 documented festivalsBrowse the festival calendar

National Black Bear Festival

Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth celebrates the region's black bears with wildlife tours, river activities, family programs, music and a full weekend on the Roanoke River waterfront.

June

RC Cola-MoonPie Festival

Bell Buckle, Tennessee

Bell Buckle celebrates the Southern snack pairing with MoonPie games, an oddball parade, music, contests and an enormous shared dessert.

June

Turtle Days Festival

Churubusco, Indiana

Churubusco celebrates its famous giant-turtle mystery with turtle-themed contests, a parade, carnival attractions, entertainment and small-town festival traditions.

June

World Championship Running of the Tubs

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs sends wheeled bathtubs racing past its historic bathhouses.

July

Blobfest

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania town celebrates a gelatinous movie monster by fleeing the theater where it attacked.

July

Gilroy Garlic Festival

Gilroy

Gilroy's revived garlic festival brings back Gourmet Alley, dramatic flame cooking, garlicky foods, entertainment and the community tradition that began in 1979.

July

Great Texas Mosquito Festival

Clute, Texas

Clute embraces its least lovable insect with mosquito-calling contests, mosquito-leg competitions, carnival rides, food, music and its giant mascot.

July

Kecksburg UFO Festival

Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania

Kecksburg celebrates its 1965 acorn-shaped UFO legend with speakers, vendors, food, music, a parade and wonderfully strange bed races.

July

Picklesburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Downtown Pittsburgh turns pickle-crazy with briny foods, pickle drinks, vendors, contests and the giant Heinz pickle balloon above the festival.

July

Roswell UFO Festival

Roswell, New Mexico

Alien costumes and extraterrestrial festivities take over the town synonymous with UFO lore.

July

Underwater Music Festival

Big Pine Key, Florida

Divers and snorkelers descend on Looe Key Reef to hear an ocean-themed music broadcast through underwater speakers.

August

Barnesville Potato Days

Barnesville, Minnesota

Barnesville celebrates its potato-growing history with picking, mashed-potato eating, potato foods, contests, vendors and deliberately starchy community traditions.