A Deceptively-Named Rocky Mountain Dish Has A Number Of Festivals Celebrating It

If you're a seafood lover, you may have heard of a dish called "Rocky Mountain oysters" and figured it's probably right up your alley. Oysters are oysters, right? Well, not in this case. As with ocean-based oysters, you have to go through a decent amount of work to get these cooked and seasoned to perfection. But in reality, Rocky Mountain oysters are made from a bull's testicles, not sea creatures. Not only are these gonads considered a tasty delicacy, but, along with these 21 food festivals you need to add to your bucket list, there are actually festivals to celebrate the dish nationwide.

In Virginia City, Nevada, there's the Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry, which invites travelers to put their testes to the test with a competition for the best Rocky Mountain oyster. Then, there's the Texas Testicle Festival held in Fredericksburg, Texas, which supplies guests with a mixture of live music, children's activities, and enough deep-fried Rocky Mountain oysters to "have a ball." There's also the Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed in Eagle River, Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival in Winchester, Virginia, just a few of several other nutty festivals that demonstrate the time-honored tradition of turning bull cajones into a brazen cuisine.

Ranching culture is a major part of why Rocky Mountain oysters became a staple of Western American cuisine. It stems from a belief that no part of an animal should go to waste, so while other parts of a bull might be used to cook steaks and burgers, the animal's testicles should have an equally significant role on the menu. Even though the name was softened so as not to scare potential eaters (which is why you'd probably never guess what Rocky Mountain oysters actually are), these "testy festies" scattered around the country serve as a way to remember and commemorate the rich history of Western cattle culture.

Perhaps the most infamous Rocky Mountain oyster festival of all is the great Montana Testicle Festival. The event began in 1982, and, while it began with the simple intention of bringing Montana's cattle culture into pop culture, it grew into a wild four-day event that encouraged all sorts of rowdy debauchery. Other than the notorious Rocky Mountain oyster eating competition, the festival hosted wet T-shirt contests and several other alcohol-fueled competitions.

However, after 35 years of building a reputation, the Testicle Festival was shut down in 2017 due to several alcohol-related deaths and safety concerns. There's a smaller version of the festival that still happens today as a charity benefit, but if you're looking for a different, well-rounded event, you'll have to check out one of these other weird food festivals from around the country.