North Carolina Watermelon Festival
The North Carolina Watermelon Festival is an annual celebration of the watermelon started in 1957 in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1] In 1985 it was relocated to Murfreesboro, North Carolina. The festival features a seed-spitting contest, the crowning of a "Miss Watermelon" and and an award for the best/biggest melons.
Winners
Watermelon grower
Miss Watermelon / Watermelon Queen
- 1966 Eleanor Brantley[3]
- 1986 Whitney Cuthbertson[4]
- 2003 Tracy Lynn Register[5]
- 2009 Kensley Leonard[6]
- 2014 Breanna Williams[7]
Seed spitting
- 1963 - Wally Ausley - 35 feet 6 inches*[8]
- 1970 - John "Speedy" Adams - 29 feet[1]
- 2004 - Kristin Cucci[2]
* World Record
Activities
The four-day event now includes:
- a parade
- musical performances
- food festival
- carnival rides
- craft sales
- 5 km run
- watermelon-seed spitting contest
- crowning of the Watermelon Princesses
- a visit from the North Carolina Watermelon Queen
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Associated Press (25 July 1970). "118 Pound Melon". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. p. 6D. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ives, Millard K. (1 August 2004). "Minding Melons". Star-News (Wilmington, North Carolina). p. 1B. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "Cool and Refreshing". Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, Kentucky). Associated Press. 13 July 1966. p. Front Page. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ Bryant, Cal (29 July 2013). "Watermelon Festival begins Wednesday". Suffolk News-Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "NC Watermelon Festival opens Wednesday". Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "Watermelon Day at the State Farmers Market Thursday, Aug. 6". In the Field. North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "Watermelon Queen 2014 Breanna Williams". North Carolina Watermelon Festival. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "No Melon, No Spit-Off". The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina). United Press International. 14 September 1963. Retrieved 9 April 2015.