The town of Bunol in Spain has hosted the La Tomatina festival since 1945. During this event, the participants throw an estimated one hundred tons of tomatoes at one another. If you’ve ever dreamed of being in a food fight, this is definitely an event that should be on your must-do list. Although the street fight only last for a short while, there are also cooking contests, fireworks, parades, and dancing for city visitors to enjoy during their stay. The nearby town of Valencia is a good place for travelers to stay if they can’t find any accommodations in Bunol itself because its’ only a short ride away on the region’s public buses.
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The festivities get underway around 11 a.m. on the last Wednesday in August with a large ham being attached to a greased pole. Once someone brings home the bacon by removing it from its’ post, the tomato filled truck start arriving so that the free-for-all food fight can begin. Participants are advised to keep out of the way of the trucks and be careful around other vehicles that may be passing through the area. Shots fired from a canon signal both the beginning and end to the event, which last from one to two hours until all the tomatoes have been used up. There are a few rules to keep in mind. First off, glass bottles as well as items that could prove fights are strictly forbidden. Participants must additionally squash their vegetable before throwing them and only tomatoes can be used as projectile. Even the fruits themselves should not be tossed after the cannon has been fired once more to signal the fight’s end.
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It’s probably a good idea to wear safety googles to avoid getting the juice in your eyes during the melee and making them sting. All the same, lots of people clearly don’t bother with this precaution. Of course, you’ll also want to wear clothes that you don’t mind tossing out after the event but you’ll also want to avoid ripping or tearing other people’s garments because this considered bad parade behavior. You’ll need to wear shoes with good traction, such as sneakers, because the streets are obviously going to get slippery with all the tomato guts that will be flying about. If you arrived on the bus, you’ll also need to bring a change of clothes and probably some soap so that you can use the public showers before the ride home.
This year’s festival will be taking place on August 31.
Sources: Latomatina.org, Wikipedia,
