La Tomatina

Bunol, Valencia. Last Wednesday of August

Every year, the town of Bunol in Valencia hosts the annual �La Tomatina� fiesta � a ridiculous free-for-all food fight, where upwards of 20,000 revelers bombard each other with very large, very ripe tomatoes that are brought in from all over Spain. Roughly 30,000 tourists plus the majority of the 9,000 Bunol natives throw well over one hundred tones of tomatoes during the festival.�

With the mass influx of tomato-throwing tourists, cheap accommodation in the small town is difficult to book during the course of the festival unless you have managed to book well in advance. Staying in budget accommodation in Valencia (roughly 40km from Bunol) is your best bet, and with the cheap car hire offered by Argus, you can drive to the town in under an hour. Just make sure to sleep off any sangria you drink and wash off any tomatoes you are wearing before you make the drive back...
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The general order of the event begins with an all-night party - thousands of participants, in a uniform of white clothing and eye goggles consume copious pitchers of Sangria through the night and into the morning of the battle. At 11 am a large ham (?!) is placed atop a greased flagpole, where it remains until a valiant inebriate manages to climb the pole and retrieve it. Let the games begin�
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An hour of frenzied, frantic and ultimately foolish tomato throwing hilarity proceeds as truck after truck dumps a bounty of squishy red missiles into the town centre. Tomatoes must be hand-squished before they are thrown to avoid any tomato-related injuries. Men generally end up shirtless, as do some unfortunate women. Everyone is covered in a slimy film of mushed vegetable. Most are smiling at the end of the furore, save for the silly few who have brought an expensive camera in the hopes of getting some good footage, only to find themselves singled out by the mischievous tomato throwers.
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This hour-long pandemonium is but one event in the town�s weeklong festival, and while it is the funniest, most ridiculous and best known part of the festival, it is the culmination of a week of music, dancing, parades, fireworks and even a massive paella cook-off.
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Anyone worried as to the possible ethical shortfalls of the festival can rest easy � the festival is held at the end of the tomato-growing season and uses overripe tomatoes that would otherwise be TOTALLY wasted (at least they are used for fun here!).� A unique and fun-filled fiesta, La Tomatina in Bunol is guaranteed to be a unique experience, if nothing else!