Melon weigh-off Saturday

By submitted, 08/29/17 12:56 PM

WASHINGTON – The 2017 Watermelon Weigh-Off will be Saturday, September 2nd at the Washington Town Hall. The Weigh-Off is recognized by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (http://www.gpc1.org/), which is an international organization that supports record-breaking agriculture. Top weights from the local Weigh-Off will be submitted to the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth. The local Weigh-Off event will run from 11:00 am to approximately 2:30 pm. There will be concessions of popcorn and hotdogs, along with demonstrations of handicrafts. Anyone is allowed to enter the Weigh-Off; contestants will need to contact Joshua Williams at (870) 703-8256, or josh.williams@arkansas.gov. First place prize is $500, second place is $300, and third place is $200. Last year’s first-place winner was Spencer Glasgow from Bessemer, AL with a 193.11 pound watermelon.

This event is sponsored by Old Washington Farmers’ Market, Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce, Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, and Historic Washington State Park.

Along with the Weigh-Off, the regular Old Washington Farmers’ Market will be held beginning at 8:00 am. There will also be a “Bring It To The Market” event, featuring a multi-family garage sale. There is a $10 booth fee for non-vendors wanting to sell garage-sale items at market.

There will be no parking/admissions fee.