Pobla del Duc, near Valencia, Spain
End of August
It's an annual ritual that signals the end of the grape harvest. In the searing heat of the noon-day sun, trucks hauling 90 tonnes of grapes dump the fruit into throngs of waiting people who proceed to fling the fruit willy nilly. The festival, which marks the climactic end to a season of hard labour, can be traced back to the 1930s, when jubilant farmers would celebrate the end of the harvest by throwing the rest of the crop at each other.
The region continues to rely on agriculture and and grapes as its main source of income, and the grape-slinging tradition remains. Children and adults alike participate in the festival, and by the end of the day are transformed into happy, sun-dried purple raisins.
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