Do you know any good watermelon recipes? Our local grocery store is currently selling entire watermelons for $1.50. I bought three. I’m not sure why. My husband and daughter don’t really like navigating around the seeds, which means I am now desperately searching for unique dishes that incorporate the refreshing fruit. (In retrospect, I realize my purchase was fueled more by the price than our collective love for the fruit.) So what am I going to do with 10 pounds of watermelon? Throw my own Watermelon Festival?
It’s not such a bad idea. During my search for watermelon recipes I discovered that this popular summertime fruit is celebrated at festivals throughout the world. Did you know that each year thousands flock to the Beijing Watermelon Festival in Beijing, China? In July, Boston hosts its annual Watermelon Festival. Watermelons invading Beantown… it’s true. From seed spitting contests to melon bowling, the big slice eating contest and melon decorating, watermelons will take over the Boston Common on Saturday, July 8th for the 2006 Life is Good Watermelon Festival. The festival draws tens of thousands of visitors to the area each year.
South Carolina has its own celebration honoring the succulent fruit. Pageland Watermelon Festival may be one of the only places in the world where you can watch contestants vie for the title of Watermelon World Queen, buy watermelon inspired fashions, imbibe in watermelon cocktails and see the annual Watermelon Parade travel down Main Street.
If you want to say that you have traveled to the country’s most famous Watermelon Festival head to Hope, Arkansas. The festival is so large it eclipses Hope’s most famous son, former President Bill Clinton. Residents say they “have been known for watermelons way before they were known for Bill Clinton.” So it’s no surprise that for four days in August the entire city stops to pay homage to the juicy green and red fruit. The festival attracts more than 50,000 visitors who come to indulge in every watermelon concoction known to man, from watermelon ice cream to watermelon salad. The Hope Watermelon Festival also features more than 300 arts and crafts booths stocked with handmade watermelon inspired wares. And you haven’t lived (according to festival goers) until you have witnessed the festival’s Watermelon Olympics, which pits local teams against each other in events like the melon toss and the obligatory seed spitting and watermelon eating contests. But that’s not all; according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Hope is also home to the world’s largest watermelon, weighing in at an incredible 268.8 pounds.
To see when and where a Watermelon Festival will be held in your area visit this informative website. Perhaps, visiting one near my home will help me find creative ways to make use of the three that now call my refrigerator home.