Watermelon Festival
Pageant winners inside! 43rdannual Au g. 16-17
Miss WatermelonQueen
An ni eW ill is
CONTR IBU TED/HESTER PHOTOGRAPHY
Anni eW illi s, th er eigning Mis sR HS, is th e2 024 Wa term el on Fest iv al Queen.Sh eist he daughte rofN ickWilli sa ndHeatherWillis.
Wa ter me lon Fe stival Pa ge ant cr ow nsne wq ue en
By María Camp maria.c amp@ fr anklincountytimes.com
“It’san ho nor torepresent Frankl in Cou nty, ”s ai dA nnie Wi llis, cr ownedoverallQueen inthe2024 Frankl in Co un ty Water melon Pa geant .S healso won Mo st Ph otogenic thisye ar. Las ty ear,she wo nQ ueen fo rt he 14–17-year-old divisio n,inad di tion toPrettiestDress.Shehasplaced in other years of thepageant as well.
Willisis al sothereigningMiss RHS.Sheis a2 024 graduat eof Russellville High Scho ol .AtR HS,
Willis was in FBL A, FC CLA,CSU, served as am emberof the annual st affandwas as tudent aide. Shehas alsoparticipated in the MissMerr yC hris tm aspageantat Tharp town High School, in addition toparti cipatingin the Watermelon Page antand Miss RHS Pa geantallfouryearsofhigh school.Willissaidshehopes toparti cipatein the MissUNA pageant. Willis planstobeginattending the Universityof Nort hA labama thisfalltomajor inelement ary education,with the hopeofreturning to Russellville toteach,pr eferably in firstor second grade.
ONTHE COVER: MicahMorrisandhisbrother,Oliver Morris,enjoywatermelon together. PHOTOBYSOMMERMORRIS.
Festivalgoersenjoyfreewatermeloneachyear.
CONTR IBUTED/ COR TNEY GR EEN
LtoR:Chris Wallace,District1;Jason Miller, District 2; Joseph Baldwin, District 3; DavidHester, District 4; seated Barry Moore, Chairmanand ProbateJudge.
FI LE PHOTO
Sister sD amarisBonillaan dA ymarBonillashowofftheirentr ies fo rl astyear ’s Wa te rmelonFest iv alcontests.
FI LE PHOTOS
LEFT: BeulahBoykinandLou Bo ykinenjoythefirstdayofthe Wa te rmelonFest iv al la styear. RIGHT: DesmondRogers,RobbieRogers and Linds ay Roge rsta ke in the offerings at la st year’ sW atermelonFestival.
LEFT: MissAlabamagreet
stival. RIGHT: Amor aM
nd2023 Wa te rmelon QueenSilvi eM illie rc heckout the cont es ts at la styear ’s fe st iv al.
Fe stivalgoersenjoyvendorofferingslastyear ’s Wa termelonFestival.
Wa ter me lon Fe stivalsetfor Sa tu rd ay
By MaríaCamp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com
The Fr anklin County Watermelo nF estival bo ast sn onstopmusica le ntertain me nt ,w atermelo nc ontestsandmore,including thepresentationoftheWatermelon Queen,artsandcraft sv en do rs ,an ant iqu ec arandtrucksho w, 5K andfunrun,freewedge sofj uicy watermelon ,y outhperfor ma nc es, theme df es tivalT-shirt sf orsa leand moreindowntow nR uss el lville.
Entertainment
Th eo peningceremon yw il lbe Aug.16at6:30p.m .F ri da yp erformance sw illinclud eT rem ayn eat 7p .m.andLOVER:AnErasTour Experienceat8:30p.m.
Saturdaybeginswithth ec ar showand5K/funru nat7 a.m. follow ed byfestivi tie sa ll day.
Mainstag em usicampsupat6 p.m. withRewi nd ,f ollo we dby Austi nB ohannon at 7p .m .a nd ColinStoughat8:30p.m.Fo rm ore informationvisithtt ps :/ /fr ankli ncou nt ycham ber .org/festivals-2/ watermelon-festival.
Roadclosures willbeineffect beginn in gA ug .1 5at3p .m .( ending Aug. 17at11 :5 9p .m.)
Thurs day –N ort hJ ac ksonAve. from Lawrenc eS t.toLauderdal eS t. an dW estFrank linSt.fro mN or th Jackso nA ve.toNorth Wa shington Av e.
Friday –8 a.m.untilSunday mornin g. -N or thJacksonAve.Fr om Lawrence St.toCotac oS t.and NorthWashingtonAve.fro mW est Frank lin St .toW estLauderdal eS t.
Saturday –6a .m .u nt ilafterthe carsh ow –S outhJacksonAve.from Lawrence St.to Ma rionSt.
Th eR ussellvillePolice Department ha si ssued ar eminder no tt odr iv ea roundan yb ar riers/ cone st hat ar em ar kingclosedroadways.
Parking
Thelo tb ehindStateFarmat Nor th Washingto nA ve./West Frankli nS t. is only op en to WatermelonFestiv alvendors. Forquestionsorassistance,the Russ ellville Polic eD ep artmentcan becon ta cted ontheirnon-emergency line ,2 56- 332-2230.
FI LE PHO TO Vo lunteerspreparefreewatermelo ns lice sa tl astyear’ sf estiva l.
