A roller derby in New Orleans (Courtesy San Fermin in Nueva Orleans) This Saturday, July 11, will see the third annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans , a faux running of the bulls inspired by the real one in Pamplona, Spain. In New Orleans, the bulls will be played by the Big Easy Rollergirls , the city’s roller derby team. (Can anyone explain why roller derby is having a comeback? Have people forgotten Rollerball ?) Here’s how it works: The run will begin at 8 a.m., but, this being New Orleans, the event actually begins at 6:30 a.m.—at a bar, the Three Legged Dog . After a drink or two (or quite possibly three), the runners will assemble outside the bar for the encierro , or running of the bulls—they will run a little over half a mile, pursued by the rollergirls wearing helmets with bull horns (the actual “goring” will be done with plastic bats, and the women have been instructed to swing hard). Runners are to wear a white shirt, white pants or shorts, and a red cloth around the neck and the waist, just like the runners in Pamplona. One element of the day that presumably has no counterpart in Spain is the Rolling Elvi , a Mardi Gras krewe of Elvis impersonators, who will be making a special appearance.

Original Source This Weekend: Running with the bulls, sort of