Let’s Eat Watermelon

Watermelons have long been a calling card for the city of Hope. What better way is there to celebrate, than to schedule a watermelon festival?

All are invited to come and have a “seed-spitting good time” at the 47th Annual Hope Watermelon Festival slated for August 10-12 Numerous activities to be featured include Arts & Crafts, food, a parade, car show, live entertainment and various contests.

Nearly 150 Arts and Crafts booths will be set up at the festival grounds. The Arts and Crafts come from a six-state area. There will also be dozens of food booths present, serving everything from burgers and corn dogs to pork rinds and “chicken-on-a-stick”. You will want to try the festival desserts as well! And don’t forget the all-time favorite, ice-cold watermelon!

Local civic clubs host dinners featuring such down-home fare as locally grown smoked chicken and golden fried catfish.

The Watermelon Festival features a variety of musical talent each year. A “Watermelon Idol” talent contest will be held Sat., Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. There will be a limit of only 20 contestants who must bring their own instruments and/or soundtracks to perform.

The beloved band that has been tearing it up on live stages, both big and small, across the globe since 1972 is none other than the Marshall Tucker Band. The headliner concert will be Saturday, Aug. 12, at 8:30 p.m. The show will be held on the CMC Stage inside Hope Fair Park. Gates open at 6 p.m. Over the years, the band has racked up hit songs, including “Can’t You See,” “Heard it in a Love Song,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Long Hard Ride,” “Ramblin’,” and more.

What else can you do at the festival? You can participate in a

5K race, take in a dog show, enjoy the car show & bike show, bring kiddos to play in the Kidz Zone, enter the seed spitting contest, or enter a county-wide Baggo Tournament. Returning this year - the Watermelon Olympics will be held, pitting local teams against each other in such events as the melon-toss. You may also enjoy an antique engine show featuring old steam engines.

The festival also features a number of melon-oriented events such as the seed-spitting contest and the Politically Correct Watermelon eating contest. And what of the famous Hope melons? Those attending will be able to see some of the bigger melons of the year, some tipping the scales at close to 200 pounds. Ice-cold watermelon will be sold by the slice for $1.25 each day and numerous melon growers will have whole melons on sale at the festival for visitors to take home. For more, visit https:// www.hopewatermelonfest.com/ For more