Published: August 10, 2008 10:42 am      

Watermelons roll

Jeff Davis Park packed for Rush Springs Watermelon Festival

RUSH SPRINGS — When the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival began Saturday, the temperature hung in the low 80s. Navigating through the crowd was easy because most people hadn’t arrived.

As the day progressed, temperatures increased by about 20 degrees, and Jeff Davis Park became packed with residents and visitors from both in and out of state.

After 64 years, the festival is still successful for the Rush Springs Lions Club, who’s in charge of putting on the event, and the town. Watermelon provided a compliment to the heat of the August day.

Jean Williams, festival chairwoman, said, “The weather has cooperated this year. It’s better than the 110-degree weather we had two weeks ago.

“I think it’s going wonderful. The EMS (emergency medical service) hasn’t taken many (people). They usually run a lot of heat-related calls.”

With 30,000 to 45,000 pounds of watermelon at this year’s event, Williams said there was more than enough to cool people off. That teamed with a semi-overcast sky helped a relatively warm day to be a bit more tolerable.

For people who were hot and parched, many of the vendors even had drinks to serve. One example was the Rush Springs Girl Scouts, who were selling lemonade and tea.

Williams said there were about 100 vendors selling food and drinks, crafts, and various other items.

This year’s Watermelon Queen was Meagan Hitt, who said she was enjoying the program.

“It’s a great day,” Hitt said. “There were a lot of people. That’s what we wanted.”

She said she was thankful for all the people who came out to support the Lions Club and those who worked to make the festival successful.

Her role in the program was to aid the Lions Club with several of the shows, including the Tiny Tots contest. She said many of the children looked up to her as the queen, much like she did when she was a child.

“I love it,” Hitt said. “It’s great. It’s busy.

“I wanted to be one. And now, I am.”

About 25,000 to 30,000 people attended this year’s event. This great rush of people, has not only helped the Lions Club, but also provided an increase in tourism for the Town of Rush Springs.

Town Clerk John D. Morrow said the town served as back-up support to the Lions Club for the event. But this help isn’t without its benefits to the town.

“It’s a tourism thing for Rush Springs,” Morrow said. “The phones have been ringing at City Hall, people wanting to know when the festival is, if we’re going to have watermelon this year.

“It’s a good program, family oriented. But that’s every year.”

Williams said she is impressed not only with the turnout but also with the people who made the program possible.

“We do the best we can,” she said. “We have 10 to 20 times more people in town than we usually have.”

She said part of planning the program is figuring out how to improve on what’s been done in the past. This year, she was happy with the way things went.

“It’s a real good festival this year,” Williams said.