Want to see something truly unique on your visit to the USA? How about attending a Pickle Festival, lizard racing competition or road-kill cook-off? Those three didn’t make my top 10 list, on no; there are far stranger things going on out there. Read on for weird and wonderful ways to spice up your 2012 and 13 USA holidays.
American Fancy Rat and Mouse Annual Show
Under appreciated and over looked, the common rodents of the world are fighting back by showing the good people of America that they can be just as stylish and graceful as a prize poodle. Taking place in Hacienda Heights, California, this rodent pageant occurs every January.
Big Mountain Furniture Race
Sideboard, armchair, coffee table or wardrobe? Choosing your ride for this race can be difficult. At the end of the day, though, as long as you can attach a pair of skis and get it going down the mountain side, who cares? The good people of Whitefish, Montana fling themselves down a snowy mountainside every April for the chance to win a prized leather recliner.
Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Cowboys are not all brooding silent types ladies, as demonstrated in Lewisville, Montana every August during the world’s biggest cowboy poetry gathering.
Great Fruitcake Toss
For fruitcake haters across the nation, here is a chance to show them just how you feel. Every January in Manitou Springs, Colorado, raisin-laden cakes are hurled, catapulted, tossed and raced.
Redneck Games
Forget the Olympics; summer 2012 is all about mud-pit belly flopping, bobbing for pig’s feet, red neck wrestlin’, and hub-cap hurlin’. Head to East Dublin, Georgia on May 26th. Don’t forget your string vest and six pack.
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Part of the Fairbanks Golden Days Festival in Alaska, the contest draws the hairiest men in the state to discover who has the thickest pelt on their chins, knees and upper lips. These guys know how to detect a good stick-on, so if you want to compete, get grooming.
Mighty Mud Mania
Tackling a mud-bath obstacle course, kids compete in different age categories to win the prize. Adults, you’ll be excited to know that this year there is a category for you too! Scottsdale, Arizona is where it’s all going on.
Zombie Walk
Get your stick on gashes and blood capsules, rip up a checked shirt, and head on down to Monroeville Mall in Pittsburg for the October Zombie Walk. Join hundreds of horror enthusiasts as they stagger, groan and gurn along the sidewalks of the city.
Anvil Shooting World Championships
Possibly the world’s strangest sport, and that’s quite a claim, Anvil shooting is all about firing anvils up to 200 foot in the air using gunpowder. Why, oh why, I hear you cry? One champion states that ‘People talk about the joy of sex, but it don’t last like the joy of shooting anvils.’ Enough said. Bay Springs, Missouri is the place to give it a whirl.
Big Whopper Liars Contest
For those with an aptitude for telling porkies, here is an opportunity to take home the gold. Every September in New Harmony, Indiana, contestants have four minutes to demonstrate their fibbing techniques as judges score them on humour, yarn spinning and believability.
You won’t find this kind of folly in your average travel guide. Check them out and share your stories.
