This weekend the city of Water Valley, Mississippi is hosting their 47th annual Water Valley Watermelon Carnival.
This year’s carnival kicked off Thursday night with the Watermelon Music Festival held inside the Civic Auditorium. The festivities will continue through Friday night with a street dance and a spectacular firework show. Saturday, a full day of events will be held for the whole family to take part starting at 6:30 a.m. and running until 8:30 p.m.
People will have a full day of continuous activities, entertainment, food vendors, arts and crafts booths and an antique car show.
This carnival is a time for a homecoming and reunion with family, friends and classmates.
This year’s Watermelon Queen is Addey Welsh. One of the events is the judging of the biggest watermelon which takes place at noon. Last year, Cody and Taylor Bost’s watermelons took home first and second place, weighing in at 134 and 132 pounds respectively.
Below is a full list of events.
The first ever Watermelon carnival was held on Thursday, August 27, 1931. At that time, the entire nation was in the grip of the Depression. In Water Valley, a bank failed, the railroad pulled out, and unemployment was at an all-time high. Local businessmen were concerned about the spirit of the townspeople, so they decided to host a carnival to boost morale.
Then, the carnival consisted of a parade, a pageant to name the Carnival Queen and a formal ball. This continued for nine consecutive years and came to a stand still with the outbreak of World War II. The carnival returned in 1980.
Adam Brown Sports Editor of HottyToddy.com
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