Hope Watermelon Festival offers family fun

Timothy Landes, 5, of Hope digs in during a watermelon-eating contest at the 40th annual Hope Watermelon Festival on Saturday. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/galleries.
Timothy Landes, 5, of Hope digs in during a watermelon-eating contest at the 40th annual Hope Watermelon Festival on Saturday. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/galleries.

HOPE -- Whitley Richards, 14, triumphantly held the broken pieces of a watermelon quarter above her head, red juice dripping from her chin, and a judge declared her the winner of the watermelon-eating contest.

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Derrick Grimes, 10, of Lonoke makes a big bubble Saturday during the 40th annual Hope Watermelon Festival, which included multiple family-oriented activities.

"We have our first place, now we need a second and third," the judge shouted to the crowd gathered in front of the stage at the 40th annual Hope Watermelon Festival.

After having her picture taken with her prize as men swept watermelon chunks off the stage in the background, Whitley walked offstage to show her mother that she had cut her top lip in her eagerness to finish the watermelon before her younger brother.

Whitley was defending her title as the watermelon-eating champion after winning last year. She said she likes the annual festival because it is a chance to spend time around the people in her community, and because she likes competition.

Contestants were divided into three age groups, and the winners from each of the groups competed to win "bragging rights" and a green plastic trophy.

Whitley's brother, Oakley, 7, took second place. The two have been attending the Hope Watermelon Festival every year since they can remember.

Oakley's first watermelon-eating contest was when he was 11 months old, said his mother, Rachael Richards.

"They do it for fun," Richards said. "They don't practice or anything."

Richards and her husband are high school sweethearts who grew up near Hope. They also attended the watermelon festival when they were growing up.

The roots of the current festival started in the 1920s and have grown from a one-day event, when residents gave slices of watermelon to train passengers, to a three-day celebration, according to the Hope Chamber of Commerce website.

This year, the festival featured a petting zoo, an arm-wrestling contest, a 5-kilometer run and a concert.

In addition to the watermelon-eating contest, Oakley participated in a seed-spitting contest, along with other children from Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and Texas.

He has won the past few years.

Oakley stood behind a duct-taped line, breathed in, leaned forward and spit the seed, sending it hurtling across the stage. It flew 13 feet, 10 inches, but that was not enough to send him to the seed-spitting finals.

Some of the other children in his age group spit seeds farther than 20 feet.

After his turn was over, Oakley darted offstage to blow bubbles and watch the rest of the contest.

Metro on 08/14/2016

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