135 Items Tagged

Competitions

Merrie Monarch dancers in 2006.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the ‘Olympics of Hula’

Hawaiʻi's Merrie Monarch Festival is arguably the most prestigious event of its kind.

Ligaya Malones April 4, 2019

The Kiplingcotes Derby, 2015.

Kiplingcotes, England

Kiplingcotes Derby

You don't have to be a professional jockey to ride in Britain's oldest horse race.

The group known as Turma do Índio—one of the oldest and most respected—in Guadalupe.

In Praise of Bate-Bola, Rio's Seductive, Scary Alternative Carnival

Garish costumes, masked clowns, and favela funk.

Lucy Bryson February 28, 2019

Phoenix, Arizona

World Championship Hoop Dance Contest

This unique competition celebrates an American Indian and Canadian First Nation cultural tradition.

Couples at dance marathon in Washington, DC, in 1924.

The Grim, Depression-Era Origins of Dance Marathons

The common fundraising events known as walkathons started as an exploitative entertainment craze.

Katie Thornton February 8, 2019

World Nettle Eating Championships

Get ready to feel the burn.

Fluff jousting.

What the Fluff? Festival

The marshmallow spread's birthplace offers a quirky tribute to the sweet-sticky stuff.

Flora-Bama Mullet Toss

Every April, contestants fling a dead fish over the Florida-Alabama state line for charity.

A pile of winsome soul cakes.

The British Bake Off That's Resurrecting a Forgotten Medieval Cake

Competitors are baking soul cakes, a bygone Halloween treat.

Abbey Perreault December 10, 2018

Teamwork and speed.

The Competitive Book Sorters Who Spread Knowledge Around New York

Inside an annual contest of brains, brawn, and library logistics.

Matthew Taub November 14, 2018

Persimmon Pudding

One southern Indiana town cooks up this unique, time-honored dessert every September.

Chastleton House across the croquet lawn.

Chastleton, England

Chastleton House Croquet Lawn

Where the rules of that most quintessentially English game were first devised by an eccentric inventor.

"Napoleon's Tree," grown from a cutting from the military leader's favorite weeping willow, is a contender for Scotland's Tree of the Year.

Voting Is Open for the U.K.'s Tree of the Year

Candidates include a tunnel made of yews, the flaky-barked "Filo Tree," and a hawthorn planted on a giant's grave.

Cara Giaimo September 28, 2018

World Oyster Opening Championship

Welcome to the olympics of oyster shucking.

Festa des Vermar

On the island of Mallorca, locals celebrate their viticulture with parades, grape-stomping contests, and a massive fruit fight.

Two participants in the children's event at the Easter on the Red River Festival.

Louisiana Egg Knocking

In small towns across the state, an Easter tradition becomes a competitive sport.

Papier mâché sea dragons by the artists at Total Pap.

Whitstable Oyster Festival

Every July, a seaside town pays homage to its local mollusks with eating contests, a marine-themed parade, and plenty of fresh seafood.

Golden Spurtle

At this Scottish porridge-making competition, contestants vie to be the champions of breakfast.