The strangest of all food festivals is an annual gathering of friends in the Los Angeles area who sample whatever they can legally obtain: grasshoppers, rhino or "bull pizzle," which—hint, hint—is the part that's attached to the "rocky mountain oysters." It's usually held during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Twenty-five years and running, this 21-and-over festival draws thousands of revelers eager to gobble down tons of deep-fried gonads. Fittingly, it's held every November near Thanksgiving in the rural town of Huntley, Ill., about an hour northwest of Chicago.

"Wait a minute," you say, "how can there be oysters from the Rocky Mountains?" Come down to this Throckmorton, Texas, festival and find out. If turkey testicles taste a bit too much like chicken for your taste, then these beef counterparts are sure to satisfy. Held every May.

Waikiki's SmapJam Hawaii is one of several major Spam festivals held every year around the country. Sponsored by Hormel, there's still something charming and odd about the enthusiasm engendered by the humble pink mystery meat that makes the SpamJam a contender for a truly bizarre food festival. The next fest will be held April 25, 2009.

While the main attraction is the Chef's Alley, where serious cooks dish up more than two tons of garlic in gourmet creations, adventurous types will seek out the more unusual items, like garlic ice cream, garlic soda pop and garlic lollipops for the kids. There's even garlic mouthwash (okay, we're kidding). The 30th anniversary of this venerable celebration of the pungent bulb will be held July 25 to 27 in Gilroy, Calif., the so-called Garlic Capital of the World.

Bugfest's "Cafe Insecta" offers a menu of creepy-crawly comestibles, like waxworm and watercress salad and wormy watermelon and mint. The 2008 Bugfest will be held September 20 at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, N.C. General admission is free, but special events often carry a separate charge. Contact the museum for more information.

Since chomping a bit of gravel can cause some serious dental problems, the good folks of Pocahontas County, West Virginia's Roadkill Cook Off have wisely limited entrants to cooking up non-roadkill animals, which in no way diminishes the excitement of trying out the rabbit, crow, possum and other wild delights dished up by these very serious competitors. The next festival will be held September 27, 2008, in Marlinton, W. Va.

San Fernando hosts this annual festival to celebrate Menudo—no, not the Puerto Rican boys band, but the traditional tripe-based soup said to have wonderful curative properties after a night of overindulgence. If you think you'd never eat stomach lining, think again: Plenty of people said the same thing about squid just a couple of decades back. It's held every October.

Held every April, the nearly half-century-old annual Rattlesnake Hunt isn't just a rare opportunity to sample fried snake meat, or to take home fresh cuts from the on-site butcher shop. You can also sell the snakes you catch for top market price or win prizes for catching the longest or most rattlesnakes.

South Carolina's Chitlin' Strut celebrates this Southern favorite that still offends the palates of most northerners. But if you're already a fan of pig intestines, then you'll want to be in Salley the Saturday after Thanksgiving to have your fill. The 2008 Chitlin' Strut will be held on November 29.