Sweet Summertime: Crowd braves heat for Hope Watermelon Festival

Collins and Grayson McMoran eat watermelons Saturday during the Hope Watermelon Festival in Hope, Ark.
Collins and Grayson McMoran eat watermelons Saturday during the Hope Watermelon Festival in Hope, Ark.

HOPE, Ark. - Hot weather didn't keep more than 7,000 people from descending on Hope to get their digs into fresh, cold watermelon pulp during the three-day, 43rd annual Hope Watermelon Festival this weekend. Residents from as far away as New Jersey and Florida traveled to dive fork first into the slices of the near ruby-red refreshment attached to a green rind.

Just as in years past, many festival visitors sheltered themselves under a large open-air tent near the center of the city's Fair Park. There, they veraciously consumed rinds full of the sweet, watery summertime delight while chunking the seeds into the setting's generously thick surface of sawdust.

Beckie Moore, Hope-Hempstead Chamber of Commerce executive director, said that despite the patrons having to weather some hot afternoon hours earlier in the week, the fair's final day attracted high crowd numbers, owing in large measure to a lingering summertime overcast, which kept temperatures below 90 degrees for much of Saturday.

Fair administrative assistant Nicole McRaven said this year's festival also attracted a record 142 commercial vendors, including 123 arts and crafts merchants, along with 19 food and drink providers.

"We even had 75 vendors on a waiting lists," McRaven said. "We also had people come out and visit the festival from as far away as North Carolina."

Also, like last year, Moore said the event received a total of about 750 from at least 20 Hope area watermelon growers.

Since 1977, the festival has been a consistent feature of Hopes heritage, ignited by Hope resident, the late C.E."Pod" Rogers, a former Hope Star co-manager.

"It was 'Pod' Rogers that got this festival going in 1977," Moore said. "He was a master promoter and we will always be thankful for that."

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