There is, apparently, an event for everything. Want to race while being chased by zombies? Baltimore-based Reed Street Productions created Run for Your Lives, a 5K obstacle course where participants are hunted by the living dead. Big fan of LOLcats or other famous felines on YouTube? On August 30, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will host its first Internet Cat Video Festival and already has more than 7,000 submissions. There's even BronyCon, a convention for guys who are really into My Little Pony.
Here's a look at some of the most unusual festivals and events that take place around the country.
Underwater Music Festival
Sponsored by Florida's Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce and US1 Radio, the 2012 Underwater Music Festival brought 300 divers and snorkel-wearing swimmers to the waters of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, where, as the name suggests, tunes could be heard underwater. The annual event is designed to raise awareness about the coral reef and while participants may wield instruments with odd, marine-inspired embellishments, the music is, in fact, piped into the water via speakers positioned on nearby boats.
Photo: Bill Keogh
Run for Your Lives
Reed Street Productions is behind Run for Your Lives, a 5K race involving zombies chasing runners that started in Darlington, Maryland, last year with more than 10,000 participants. This year the organizers expanded the run to 12 cities, including Atlanta, Toronto, Indianapolis, and Seattle. Racers make their way through an obstacle course while wearing flags that "zombies" try to grab, and the first person to cross the finish line with at least one flag wins. Following the race, there's the "Apocalypse" party, with food, drinks, and, naturally, more zombies.
Photo: HGL
BronyCon
There is a serious, male fan base for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, an animated series that debuted in 2010 and is based on Hasbro's popular toys from the '80s. Those enthusiasts, self-proclaimed "bronies,"Â attend BronyCon, which attracted an impressive 4,000 attendees to its most recent run held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center June 30-July 1. Bronies also hit this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, where a large sculpture of character Pinky Pie sat on the trade show floor.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Internet Cat Video Festival
Some of the most viewed videos on YouTube are of cats—Keyboard Cat, cats making funny faces—so it's no surprise someone decided to create a festival dedicated to such footage. The Minneapolis Walker Arts Center will host its first Internet Cat Video Festival on August 30, an event that received more than 7,000 submissions and will encourage the public to vote for their favorite videos via Twitter using the hashtag #catvidfest.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Air Guitar World Championships
Held annually since 1996 in the Finnish city of Oulu, the international competition for air-guitar playing has regional contests all over the world, including Belgium, Germany, the U.S., and Russia. According to the organizers, the purpose of the Air Guitar World Championships is to promote world peace. Contenders perform to 60 seconds of music without any visible musical instrument, and the final hosted in Oulu, this year scheduled for August 22-24, is part of the Oulu Music Video Festival.
Photo: Pasi Lehtinen
Blobfest
The Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Colonial Theatre's claim to fame is being featured in 1958 cult film The Blob, so every year the historic spot hosts Blobfest, a celebration of all things related to the Steve McQueen monster flick. The 2012 run of the festival, which was July 13-15, included a street fair with local vendors, a window display and facade contest, and a showing of The Blob as well as The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Photo: Serena Blackwell
Burping World Championships
The World Burping Federation in Geneva, Switzerland, wants to make belching more socially acceptable. On June 8 it held the first Burping World Championship in New York, with pizza chef Timothy Janus crowned the winner. This year's competitions focused on the length of the burp, with upcoming contests in Mumbai and Majorca; next year, the federation will judge based on decibel.
Photo: Courtesy of the World Burping Federation
Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators & Tribute Artists
September will mark the 10th year of the gathering for celebrity doppelgangers, a convention that offers performers seminars, Q&A sessions with talent agents, and a showcase for new acts. In 2011, the Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators & Tribute Artists inducted its first Hall of Fame honorees, a list that included Bettina Williams (a Whoopi Goldberg look-alike) and Kenny Rogers impersonator Richard Hampton.
Photo: Courtesy of Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators & Tribute Artists
Roswell U.F.O. Festival
Every year the city of Roswell, New Mexico, commemorates the alleged flying saucer crash of 1947 with festivities that include alien-costume contests, a parade, and live entertainment. Coordinated by several organizations, including the city, the Roswell Museum and Art Center, and the Roswell Runners Club, this year the three-day U.F.O. Festival had an "Alien Chase," a 5K and 10K fund-raising run, as well as talks from Dr. Donald Burleson, author of UFOs and the Murder of Marilyn Monroe.
Photo: Mike Peters
Woolly Worm Festival
Every third weekend in October, Banner Elk in North Carolina hosts the Woolly Worm Festival, a celebration that determines which woolly worm—a caterpillar that turns into the Isabella Tiger Moth—will predict the weather for the following winter. (Apparently, the thickness of the caterpillar's brown stripe indicates how mild or severe the winter will be.) Participants race the worms on lengths of string, with the fastest being crowned the winner. Other family-friendly activities include rides, live music, and food and crafts from more than 140 vendors.
Photo: Courtesy of Woolly Worm Festival
