Air guitar. Image by Hans Braxmeier / Pixabay
ODDBALL EVENTS SWAMP FOOTBALL (Suopotkupallo): if you like mucking around in knee-deep in mud, getting down and dirty, this is the game for you. Soldiers and athletes – mostly cross-country skiers – dreamed up this muscle-building sport to train in the summer. It caught on and went global. Around 300 teams compete around the world. The next championship is in Turkey.
AIR GUITAR FESTIVAL (Ilmakitarafestivaali) Oulu, August 2021: Dead-serious contenders play guitar with no instrument. To the non-woke, it looks wacky. In the mid-1800s it was considered a form of mental illness. But contestants, and fans, are dedicated. Some copy styles of famous guitarists. A contender played the AG behind his back and won the championship. The festival is so popular it pulls in around 300000 fans.
TANGO FESTIVAL (Tangomarkkinat) Seinäjoki, July 2021: A friend and I went to the festival. What it wasn't, was anything like the sexy Latin-American tango. What it is, is hugely popular with around 100,000 dancers and on-lookers. 1.50 m follow it on TV and radio. People dance, eat, drink and play all over the town center. Music air all day into the long, light Finnish summer night. A tango-song-wring contest provides new tunes every year. Lively and fun but don't expect the sex-charged traditional tango.
WIFE-CARRYING CONTEST (Eukokanto) Sonkajarvi. July 2021: The idea goes back to the 1800 village tales – thieves carrying off the women. Today couples come from all over to compete in this crazy contest. The world champions – for two years - are a man and wife from Lithuania. The wife clings to her husband's back as he runs through the hurdles. To the fans in the stands, it looks dangerous for both. And you wonder if WC wannabes should choose skinny partners...
Sources: the Shark, internet.
Next week: CON-spiracy CULTS
Note: What can i say? Not much. So i won't.
CU
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Eki
