Article written by: Corey Spawn

Pamplona, Spain is not the only city with a running of the bulls anymore.  The Great Bull Run started coming to Minnesota last year and brings the fun and entertainment closer to home, near the Twin Cities, in Elk River, Minn. on June 21.

The Great Bull Run is very similar to the famous Running of the Bulls in Spain with only one major difference, the route is only a quarter mile long.  The original run is a half-mile long.  Participants start at one part of the track and wait for the bulls to come to them, then they try to run with the bulls for as far as they can.  They can choose to jump over the fence at anytime along the course.  The one day festival includes a tomato fight known as the Tomato Royale at the end of the day.

The bull run is the main event of the day.  It is very dangerous even with all of the safety precautions in place.  There is no scoring or timing.  The object of it is to run with the bulls as far as possible.

“No, I wouldn’t do it, it’s a stupid idea,” said junior Tucker Tomek.

The day concludes with the Tomato Royale.  It is one place where throwing food is a good thing.  Participants throw as many tomatoes at each other as they can while music is playing.  Just like the bull run, it is just for fun and there is no scoring involved.

“A tomato fight,” said Tomek, “that would be awesome.”

Some people might argue that having these Spanish events here in the United States takes away from the cultural aspect of the events.  There are some changes to the American events, but they are mostly the same as the original.

“It’s not really disrespectful if we attribute the events to their origins,” said Tomek.

This year’s event will definitely attract a crowd to see or even try the two main events.  It will be and experience to have the strange cultural traditions that take place around the world come closer to home here in the Twin Cities.