RUSH SPRINGS – Rush Springs Lions Club will host about 25,000 people to its 76th annual Watermelon Festival where an estimated 15,000 pounds of the red, tasty fruit will be served to visitors Saturday, Aug. 14 at Jeff Davis Park.
“We are expecting a good crowd after not having it last year,” said festival chairman and Lions Club member Mary Hill. “We absolutely have the best tasting watermelons anywhere – no exception.”
Watermelon farmers adapted to the large amount of rainfall that hit the watermelon capital of the world earlier this year and were able to harvest a quality crop that festivalgoers will certainly enjoy. The largest watermelon ever weighed at the festival is 212 pounds, Hill said.
The festival begins Aug. 12 with the Rush Springs Rodeo and a carnival. The rodeo, which will be held at Rusty Acres Arena, concludes Friday, Aug. 13. The rodeo start times for both days is 8 p.m
A festival parade is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13 in downtown Rush Springs.
Saturday’s festival schedule starts early with a 7 a.m. 10K run and a 5K run at 7:30 a.m. The festival’s antique car, tractor, motorcycle, and hot rod show kicks off at 9 a.m. Prize melon exhibits will be on display at the McAdoo Exhibit Building from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The festival’s opening ceremony begins at 9 a.m. followed by a Tiny Tots Contest and a full slate of entertainment. The coronation of the Watermelon Queen is set for 11:45 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., the finalists in the seed-spitting contest will be announced. Other key parts of the festival include the prize melon auction which starts at 3:30 p.m. followed by the free watermelon feed at 4 p.m.
Evening entertainment kicks off with Von Hawks Rising at 6 p.m. followed by singing performances from 2021 Watermelon Queen Jerricka Funk and past Watermelon Queens.
The festival began in the late 1930s when Rush Springs residents would gather after harvest to eat melons together and it “grew from there,” Hill said. Watermelons were Rush Springs’ major cash crop beginning in the 1920s and were shipped from the town by train and wagon all over the United States, she said.
A complete schedule of events can be found on the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival Facebook page.