Watermelon Festival

My roommate and I drove down the highway with patches of trees blurring past us, getting glimpses of small farmhouses hiding behind them. As we passed over Grassy Creek, we could see the truck full of watermelons guarded by a guy sitting in his folded seat with an umbrella strapped behind it. We knew we were getting close. After 35 minutes of driving, we arrived:

the 2017 Hempstead, Texas Annual Watermelon Festival.

Now, I know this isn't a typical post of mine, but I thought it would be fun to mix it up and share the experience with all of you. And I mean, who doesn't like watermelons??

It all worked out perfectly - Lili got off of work early before noon, I didn't want to read another chapter out of my textbook, and it was the perfect opportunity for us to dress cute and grab our cameras.

It was a two-day event for the whole city. Stores closed down and vendors brought their things outside to attract people walking to the center of the park where all the events were held.

Lili and I walked through twice and browsed everything. We got hassled by a woman wanting us to enter a drawing for a free Yeti until she found out we weren't 25. Then right across the way we got to sample some watermelon salsa (as weird as it sounds, it was delicious). And finally we found the cutest turquoise trailer selling sno-balls*. Obviously we couldn't resist - I ordered horchata with condensed milk and Lili got mangonada.

I know what you're thinking: "You were at a watermelon festival and didn't get watermelon?" We most definitely got ourselves a slice of watermelon. A huge slice.

The local Boy Scouts were selling slices of watermelon to raise money. And when I say slice, I mean a quarter of a whole watermelon. We could've even bought a whole half of a watermelon for just a dollar more (labeled as 2 slices). No complaints here, we split it and ate it all before heading on to the next thing.

On the way to the gazebo we stopped by a BBQ truck to grab lunch. Nothing like sausage-on-a-stick and a beer to keep the worries away. We found a nice spot of grass in the shade to sit down and watch some of the activities.

I got to meet the 2017 Watermelon Princess and runner-up Queen. Their commencement was earlier that morning but got to stay around to judge the watermelon-eating contest. I wish I could've been there the day before to see what it takes to become Queen!

The watermelon eating contest was a hoot. There were four rounds for different age groups, and by the end the whole area was messy with watermelon juice. I felt bad for the parents of the kids who came back all nice and sticky. It was quite the show, everyone rallied around to cheer on their friend or family member.

The day ended in a watermelon auction. These watermelons were at least 3x the size of the one cut up to eat earlier. The Grand Champ watermelon at the very top of the stack weighed 125 pounds and auctioned off for $400. How do you even carry that to your car?

At the end of the day I walked away with a free plant, a free koozie, a watermelon heart sticker, a full stomach, and a good mood. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday, if I do say so myself.

Definitely worth the drive. Sometimes you gotta get away from life's stresses and just enjoy a watermelon festival 🍉




*Sno-balls are not the same as sno-cones. Sno-balls are a New Orleans treat and have finer-shaven ice and are much, much better.