WEBVTT - The Strangest Summer Festivals You NEED to Visit (Probably) 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:06.559 You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:12.960 and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:13.880 What's that Mango? 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:18.400 So I am so angry because we missed Stuart Pennington's 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.000 World Championship Running of the Tubs again this year. 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:24.840 Okay, so here's the thing I've always wondered about Stuart Pennington. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:27.200 Who is Stuart Pennington? 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.120 You don't remember Stuart from college? 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.199 I don't know. 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:37.480 Stuart Pennington was this booster and this businessman from Hot Springs, Arkansas, 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:39.400 and he was trying to figure out a fun way 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.879 to bring more tourists to town. So I didn't realize this, 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:46.440 but Hot Springs actually has some fun novelty events already. 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.919 The shortest, Saint Patrick's Day Parade is I think their 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:54.120 most popular. It's a ninety eight feet long. But anyway, 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:56.240 building off that idea, he came up with the idea 0:00:56.400 --> 0:01:00.000 of this world Championship baptub race, and now it's named 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:00.560 in his honor. 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.520 You know, I actually vaguely remember this one from back 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:05.720 in our Mental Flaws days, but I did always wonder, like, 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:07.160 why race bathtubs? 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.880 Yeah, it's a good question. Apparently Hot Springs has this 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:14.400 beautiful section called Bathhouse Row, and it's full of spas, 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:17.679 these like architectural gems that are built over the town's 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:19.959 natural hot springs. They were built there in the eighteen 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:22.960 nineties to nineteen twenties, and that's about the period where 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.399 people are really getting into sanitariums. Anyway, the tubs are 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.720 kind of an homage or almost a nod to the bathhouses, 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.560 and the races sound really fun. Apparently, each team has 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:38.160 to have five members, a captain, a bathtowel attendant, a 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.840 b attendant, a soap attendant, and alofa attendant in size. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.880 They're the ones doing the pushing. Meanwhile, the captain steers 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.200 the tub from inside, and all the attendants can only 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.600 push with one hand because they have to hold on 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.000 to their other item the whole race, whether that's the 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:54.680 soap or the bath mat or whatever. 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:57.400 I like all the specifics of this. This actually sounds 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:57.920 pretty great. 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.400 Yeah, it's a hood, but there are also obstacles along 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:04.000 the course, and the judges can make up rules on 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.480 the fly. Also, you are free to bribe judges, and 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:09.640 if you bribe the right ones, they'll let you pass, 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.119 and if you bribe the wrong ones, they'll actually hold 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:16.119 you up at various detours. The crowd really gets into 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:18.520 the whole thing. You're encouraged to pelt teams with water 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:22.120 balloons and water guns along the way. And there's one 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:24.600 last rule. You can decorate the tub and dress up 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:28.919 in any theme you want, but everyone has to wear suspenders, right, 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:33.120 of course, that's the only logical anyway, Maybe next year 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.560 we should get a team together, but apparently the town 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:38.920 makes it really easy. They even provide stock bathtubs on 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.640 wheels for you to decorate if you're inclined. But the 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.000 fact that we missed Stuart Pennington's World Championship running in 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:48.800 the tubs this year gave me major fomo, and I 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:50.840 wanted to make sure we didn't miss any other strange 0:02:50.840 --> 0:03:14.560 and important summer festivals. So why don't we dig in? Hey, 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:17.280 their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.480 Pearson and as always I'm here with my good pow 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.720 mangash hot ticket here and sitting behind that big booth 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:27.280 carving a giant slab. I think that is spam into 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:31.360 a beautiful sculpture just in time for Spamfest. 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:33.400 Mango. That's our pal Dylan. Can you see what he's 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:34.200 carving over there. 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:38.200 I think it's is it it like spam b Arthur. 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.640 Or it looks a little b arthurish Margaret Thatcher, I can't. 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:44.920 I'm pretty sure he's a big Golden Girls fan, so 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:46.560 I'm gonna go with b Arthur. But you're right, it's 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.920 it's either way. It is very, very impressive, all right. 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:52.640 So the weather is changing in New York. Mango now. 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:54.920 I know that it is, was just there last week 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.360 and it's finally getting to be summer. But here in Alabama, 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.119 my kids have been off from school for a while now, 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.800 so I'm curious when does summer vacation start for you guys. 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:06.640 Yeah, it's still a couple of weeks away. Kids in 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.280 New York are basically in class until July, which is 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.880 so hard when the weather is nice. Yeah. Actually you 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:14.880 know this, But that year where we moved from New 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.640 York to Atlanta, Henry, who was like seven at the time, 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.440 was so excited for summer. He's really one of those 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:22.840 kids who's built for camp and built for summer, and 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.240 so he gets off school in July, and then we 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.279 got to Atlanta and he had to be in school 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:31.000 on August first, and I don't know when it dawned 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:32.479 on him that he only had like a month of 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:34.800 summer vacation, but he was so angry. 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:36.840 I get it, he should have been. That's rough. 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.039 But you know, since I have a few more weeks 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:43.359 before our summer vacation really begins, this is kind of selfish, 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:45.160 but I want to hear more about some of the 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.280 weirdest summer festivals just in case we can sneak one 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:49.160 in on the calendar. 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:51.719 I like that. That's a good idea. All right, Well, 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:53.400 I will jump in here, and I think I will 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:57.320 start with the messiest festival that I can find. Now, 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.000 some people might want to talk about Great Throwing Festival 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.640 or that tomato tossing festival in Spain, But if you 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:08.240 want real, real messiness, you're looking to do some international 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.960 travel as well. You've got ahead to Boryong in South Korea. 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:15.080 Well, I don't know about getting dirty, but the international 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.280 travel part of it sounds appealing, So why don't you 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:18.080 tell me a little more? 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:20.680 All right? So, Borjong is this town in the western 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.800 coast of South Korea. But every July for two weeks, 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.039 there's this giant mud festival there. Now, I know what 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:30.000 you're thinking, this probably reminds you of the giant mud 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:32.320 party that happened on the quad in college, which was 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.520 a total disaster, although funny to watch, but it is 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:36.720 nothing like that. 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.080 Oh my god, that mud party was the worst. It 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.280 was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a bubble. 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.640 Party, a bubble party, and all college kids love a 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:47.240 good bubble party, I think, yeah. 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.400 But then that machine malfunctioned and just spit out like 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.279 tiny bits of soap, and it was raining, and it 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.680 just turned into like a ridiculous mud wrestling pit. It 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:57.839 was so gross. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:05:58.760 Yes it was. 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.279 But I mean I assume at this mud festival people 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:04.320 just get muddy, right, well. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:05.480 I mean that is part of the name. But you've 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:08.359 got to remember this is no ordinary mud mango. We 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:12.200 are talking premium South Korean mud here. Keep that in mind. 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.400 I like that, so, so tell me a little more. 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:18.200 Well, in the nineteen nineties, Borjong had fallen on hard times, 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.760 and the beaches were kind of laughed at because the 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.640 water was dirty with mud and it wasn't the sort 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:27.640 of pristine thing you would travel for. Also, local manufacturing 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:31.200 had shut down, and things for various reasons were pricey. 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.520 But when the towns mayor read this report that Boryong 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:38.400 mud was superior to other MUDs for skin care, he 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:41.760 helped bootstrap this industry around it. Apparently the mud has 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.920 these various nutrients and qualities that are beneficial for cosmetic care. 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:49.960 And because Boryong mud Flats had mud all over the place, 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:53.440 it turned into a real driver of business. And then 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.400 slowly as the town wanted to glamorize this mud and 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:59.839 the pr around it sort of just kept growing. It's 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:01.680 art of this giant mud festival. 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.159 What happens at the mud Festival. 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.400 Well, it's for two weeks every July. Millions of people 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.160 flock to the town. Seriously, millions of people flocked to 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.720 the town for all sorts of muddy events. Now this 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.880 is according to the official site. There's mud wrestling, mud sliding, 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.119 mud swimming, and a muddy marathon which just sounds like torture. 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.320 I don't know if it's a full marathon. There's also 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.200 something called a mud prison, which I'm not sure what 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.720 that is. But best of all, if you show up, 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.960 you can get free mud like they'll dollop it into 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:34.480 your hands and it's yours. Mango like you can fly 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:36.880 home with it. You can go home with it. Yeah, 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.360 you get to keep the mud. It's pretty amazing. Plus 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.040 there's food, there's fireworks. I don't think either of those 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:45.200 are made of mud, hopefully not. And most importantly it 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:48.240 ends in a big K pop concert, which is just 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.080 a blast. And because I know how finicky you are, 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.880 there are also lots and lots of places to wash off, 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:58.880 from jumping in the sea to water spouts everywhere. It's 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.640 really this joyous of and the real promise is that, 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.560 after all the mudtastic fun, which is a phrase I 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.480 pulled from the official site, you are going to walk 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:11.040 away with glowing skin, so sort of an added benefit. 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.440 Well, here's the summer festival I like. It takes place 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:19.000 in August. It's called the Burning of z Zobra or 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:23.160 burns Azobra, and it's in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Speaking 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:24.800 of which, have you ever hung out in Santa Fe 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:26.400 or like spend time in New Mexico. 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:28.800 I have actually never been to Santa Fe. You know, 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:30.800 there's that group that I get together with once a 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.120 year to just kind of make up our own half 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:36.400 marathon somewhere, and Santa Fe has always been on the list. 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:38.679 One of the things that scares us is the elevation 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.200 there in terms of, you know, adjusting to that for 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:43.560 a good run. But I've always wanted to go. I know, 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:44.600 it's just beautiful there. 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.160 Yeah, I mean we went last summer and it was 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.840 like a wonderful and easy trip. And you know that 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:53.120 writer Rachel Sime, she made a list for this friend 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.120 of mine who was going on the trip, and it 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:57.200 was just all these incredible things to do in New Mexico, 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.640 and it was so wonderful between like the landscapes and 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.079 the high in the food. So I've been evangelizing that. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:06.160 But back to Zazobra. The whole festival comes from this 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:09.040 artist named Will Schuster, and this is way back in 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:12.120 nineteen twenty four. I guess he and his friends formed 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:14.160 this little club where you could only be a member 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.880 if you could spin great yarns. So it's this like 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.640 colorful group of characters and they decided to throw a 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:22.199 big annual party. But at the end of it, they 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:26.000 wanted something meaningful. So the names of Zobra, according to 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.720 the festival site, means anguish, anxiety or gloom in Spanish, 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:31.920 and the idea is that they wanted to create this 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:35.240 giant's Zobra character. It started out just six feet high, 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.720 but today it's a fifty foot high marionette, and they 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:40.560 light it on fire at the end of the festival, 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.520 and they keep it dancing through the flames, which is, 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.680 you know, amazing because it's a marionette. But here's the thing. 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:50.280 Instead of just lighting this big marionette on fire, everyone 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.640 celebrating fills it with their worries. So some people will 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:56.840 stuff old parking tickets in or paid off mortgages, or 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.480 some people actually put their divorce papers in the pile, 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:01.560 or you know a lot of people just write their 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.600 anxieties and put it on paper and then you know, 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:07.640 slip it in. And then this gigantic effigy of wood, 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.480 wire and cloth goes up in flames. There's a whole 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.600 ceremony and parade that leads up to the fire. But 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.160 the idea is that you can leave your worries and 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:17.680 get some relief from it all. Actually, this is a 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.120 note that will Schuster wrote to his friend back in 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.320 nineteen twenty four. After burning. It goes quote. After the 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.400 flames consumed the effigy and the embers faded into the 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:31.640 Starlit Santa fe Sky. We stood together, a group of unburdened. 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:34.280 In the ashes of this effigy lay the worries of 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:37.360 the past year, and from them we shall rise anew our, 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:40.800 spirits ablaze with hope and renewal. Tonight we have not 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.760 just witnessed a spectacle. We have participated in a sacred 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:48.160 rite of purification, laughter, and rebirth. And I should think 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.160 that could be a really great way to end the summer. 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.320 Yeah, I mean, that's just is especially with that quote, 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.800 that's pretty terrific there. All right, Well, there are plenty 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.480 of things to get into before the end of the summer, 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.439 including Maidens Fair, and once again, I'm going to go international. 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:02.880 I think you can tell I've just sort of got 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.959 this bug. I'm ready to travel here. But the Maidens 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.960 Fair takes place on the third Sunday of July in 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.200 the Gayina Mountains of Transylvania. 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:13.720 And so what happens on Maidens Fair, Well. 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.920 The Guina Mountain borders four regions that make up something 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:20.280 like eighty villages. So for centuries the mountain has been 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:24.400 this convenient meeting spot for trade and communication. And actually 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.360 the location is supposed to be stunning, like there's this 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:30.200 clearing about a mile up where you're basically touching the 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.760 clouds and overlooking all these towns. And so since the 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:38.040 eighteen hundreds, the festival mostly served as this huge market, 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.160 but at some point Romanians realized that it was also 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.000 a good way to match make, and they'd form ties 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.120 with these other communities. There's also this legend about a 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.520 magic hen the mountain is named for Guyina that would 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.559 lay these golden eggs and once a year, newlyweds who 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:56.880 were truly in love would receive an egg as a present, 0:11:57.240 --> 0:11:59.360 And according to one site, there is still plenty of 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.719 these super locals who believe that the mountain is good 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.640 luck and that a couple can only be happy if 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:09.440 their wedding is done in the mountains clearing. Anyway, in 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.720 modern times, there's much less matchmaking that takes place there, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.200 and it's really just this wonderful festival of Romanian culture. 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.480 People dress up in these traditional clothes, they sell crafts 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.480 and just kind of indulge in all these folkloric arts' 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.720 It seems like a really pleasant thing to be at. 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:27.439 And is it just kind of like a cultural affair 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:29.400 or is there a party element to it too. 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.760 No, definitely. In fact, there's this homemade plum brandy that 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.559 the mountaineers in the area apparently love, and that's supposed 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:38.640 to be pretty good as well, and there's lots of 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.240 dancing and drinking. So it sounds like a great time. 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.240 Oh I like that. Well, here's an international one that 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:45.560 I think is pretty funny. 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.840 Actually, I thought I was the one doing the international one. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.720 Go ahead and joining you. Now, I will not be 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:54.280 traveling to this one this year, but it takes place 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.920 on July twenty eighth and twenty ninth in Ferrano, Hokkaido 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.600 in Japan, and it's a festival dedicated to the belly button. 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:06.760 The whole thing is dedicated to the belly button. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.640 Yeah. Yeah, So I was wondering why the belly button, 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.640 and I guess Serano is the center of Hokkaido the 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:14.319 same way you're a belly button is the center of 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.280 your body. So they decided to celebrate its geography with 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:21.280 a belly button festival. Nice. Apparently, in the late nineteen sixties, 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.920 town politicians thought that the people of Ferano needed something fun, 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.800 like a summer festival and something to bring them together 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:31.840 because apparently the population is really spread out over the region. Now, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.439 Hokkaido has tons of things that attract people in the winter. 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.440 It's a northern Japanese island, so it's got skiing and 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.240 hot springs, and I read this one tourist account of 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.360 slurping on this delicious hot crab soup that's made in 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:47.280 the winter, so they've got that as well. But Kerano 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.439 needed a summertime activity aside from the cherry blossoms and 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.920 the lavender fields, so they concocted this belly Button Festival. 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.400 All right, all right, so we still haven't said yet though. 0:13:56.440 --> 0:14:00.840 What actually happens at the belly Button Festival is mostly 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.760 a lot of belly dancing, but not not belly dancing 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.120 in the way you might think. People paint funny faces 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.280 on their stomachs, and then they carry these parasols and 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.960 umbrellas to look like hats to cover their heads, so 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.520 it looks like your stomach is this giant face of 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.480 a cartoon character. And then they wear these clothes that 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:22.000 have arms sticking out from the waist down. So yeah, 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:24.040 I've got to show your picture is just so ridiculous. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.600 Oh my gosh, this is not at all what I 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.000 pictured like these are so incredible, Like these are real. 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.160 I just expect like somebody had taken a sharpie and 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:35.640 drone on their belly button and then like made faces 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:37.480 with its. These are amazing, mango. 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:41.760 Yeah, it's this insane parade and it's really fun and sweet, 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:44.160 and the whole purpose is just to laugh and bring 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.320 joy to people. Yeah, the first year of the festival 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.440 in nineteen sixty nine, only eleven people took off their 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.720 shirts and painted their bellies. But these days the event 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.080 draws four thousand dancers and anyone can join in, and 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.120 the troops can win awards for best dances. But the 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.360 weirdest part of the festival, and the thing I really 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.440 still can't figure out, is this thing that all the 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:08.680 sites seem to claim, they say, quote, the best part 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.160 of the festival is the belly button themed food. 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.240 I mean, of course I love belly button theme food, 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.360 but what is belly button themed food exactly? 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.600 I have no idea. Every site seems to talk about it, 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.920 but you know, and I was thinking maybe it's like 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:28.280 candy buttons or like uh, gummy suma wrestlers or something, 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.960 you know. And the only reference I could find to 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:34.960 the food was curry and noodles, which I guess just 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.800 goes in your belly but doesn't seem particularly belly button themed. 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:40.920 Wow, that is wild that I had never heard of 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.360 that festival before. All Right, so how about for our 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.280 last four Since such a significant number of our listeners 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:49.040 are in the States, why don't we keep it domestic 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.120 or at least to North America? What do you think? 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:53.920 Yeah? I could do that, So so what are you thinking? 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.800 Well, since we haven't done a music festival yet, how 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:01.000 about the Underwater Music Festival and Big pine Key Florida. 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:02.920 So this one is coming up soon. It's on July 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:05.520 tenth of this year, so you'll have to make plans 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.240 pretty quickly. But the festival was started back in nineteen 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.360 eighty five by Bill Becker, who worked for US one's 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.600 radio station one oh four point one FM, and it 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:16.880 was a way to do something fun and raise money 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.920 to protect the coral reefs. So basically, the radio station 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:23.360 encourages people to dress up then dive or snorkel as 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.240 they pump music into the water. 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.520 Does the music come through clearly? Like? What does it 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:28.960 sound like? Well? 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.359 Bill actually was doing an interview with a local website 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.440 Florida Keys dot Com, and he was saying that sound 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:38.080 travels five times as quickly in water as it does 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.120 in air, and it comes from all directions, so you 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.080 get this surround sound sort of this ethereal feeling from 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:47.640 the music there. And of course all the music is 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:52.160 water theme, so from playing the Titanic soundtrack to Yellow Submarine, 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:53.640 they keep it all in that theme. 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.160 And I'm guessing this a lot of Jimmy Buffett too. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.480 You nailed it, a lot of Jimmy and Buffet. But 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.840 the other fun part of the festival is the costuming. 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.919 So people dress up as rock stars and mermaids for 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:09.800 their dives, and they're all sorts of punny underwater instruments 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:14.360 from the trombone, fish and clambourines that artists make. It's 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:15.560 actually really quite fun. 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.399 And what about the fish, like, are they bothered by 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.800 all this noise that sort of piped into the ocean. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.879 Apparently not. Some of the divers actually say that the 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:26.719 fish to tend to shimmy in unison with the music, 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.720 and that sounds fun to watch. But lots of animals 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.080 come though, from turtles to manatees, and as Bill likes 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.280 to point out, It's pretty special because quote, this is 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.679 the only living coral reef off the coast of the 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:42.520 continental United States that you can actually drive to. So 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:44.240 he said, why wouldn't you want to join the fun, 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:46.800 get in the water and enjoy this reef. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.920 That's a really good point that Bill's making. So I'm 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:51.120 going to book my tickets tomorrow. 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:54.280 Great, all right, So what else do we need to 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:55.240 add to our calendar? 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:59.119 Next? How about the sand firm In Festival in New Orleans, 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.639 which is taking place July twelfth to fourteenth. I actually 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:04.639 chose this one because I already talked about the running 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:06.359 of the tubs, and I thought it'd be fun to 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.959 talk about the running of the bulls Nueva Orleans style. 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:14.600 The event is the brainchild of Mickey Henning, a local 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.520 who saw someone in that all white red kerchief thing 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.760 that runners in Pamplona ware and he saw that at 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.359 Marti Ground. He thought, hey, why doesn't New Orleans have 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.679 its own bull festival? So instead of real bulls, he 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:31.600 put his bulls on roller skates. Henning found four hundred 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:35.399 roller bulls, who are athletes from local roller derbies, and 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:39.040 their dresses, bulls with little helmets with horns, and they 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.040 line up and chase down fourteen thousand runners and then 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:44.560 they whack them with his foam bat they have, or 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:47.399 occasionally poke them with horns on their helmets. It is 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.399 fun and total chaos, and you can end up with 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:55.040 minor bruises, but as the tourist site promises, it's nothing 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:58.520 a little food and drink can't fix. And there are 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:01.080 other events that round out the weekend. There's a La 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:05.000 Fiesta de Pantalonez, which is for some reason a festival 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.200 of pants that first night, and an El pobre de 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:11.280 me or poor Me event that final day when you're 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:15.359 supposed to be nursing your hangover and your bruised bottoms. Also, 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.520 there's a Hemingway lookalike contest for added fun. 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:21.280 Oh I like that. That's a good, good addition there. 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:23.960 All right, we've got two more strange festivals to get to, 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:25.720 But why don't we take a quick break first? 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.480 Welcome back to part time genius. When we're talking strange 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.760 summer festivals, I think we've got a pretty strong list 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:48.679 of things to do this summer will but what do 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:49.439 you want to finish with? 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.800 I mean, there's so many wonderful festivals that don't exist anymore. 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.320 There's the Cleveland Duct Tape Festival. There's the Friendship Festival 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:01.520 that used to occur between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo. 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:03.000 They're not friends anymore. 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.919 They're friendly, but apparently bingo and slot machines used to 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.480 fund the festival, and when the slots casino closed, people 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:14.000 stopped playing as much bingo and that money that funded 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:17.359 the Friendship I guess dried out. But it still feels 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:21.080 like you could celebrate this border crossing friendship, don't you think. 0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:24.639