This post is sponsored by National Watermelon Promotion Board (watermelon.org) and I received compensation for my time. Opinions and enthusiasm are my own, always.

No secret I try to live on the “wedge” every which way, I seriously think watermelon is my spirit fruit. Not so much as I’m big and juicy and seedy as a watermelon (haha), but more that I’m happy, healthy, and ready to turn any situation into a celebration.

Watermelon has been woven through so many warm-weather in my life and now I have a new page in my ongoing watermelon story – spending the day with my hubby at the Watermelon Thump in Luling, Texas. Luling is a quaint little south-central Texas town with only about 5,500 residents – but on the last full weekend each June the Thump ups that number at least four or five-fold. Read on to find out my 10 Things to Do at a Watermelon Festival  — whether the Lulling Watermelon Thump or any other Watermelon Festival in the USA

How ‘bout a Parade: Many small-town festivals start off with a parade, and the Luling Watermelon Thump was no exception. From the high school band, dance troupes and local first responder vehicles to every elected official, every beauty queen and that hopefuls from the area and neighboring counties. Of course, the highlight was seeing the currently crowned Watermelon Thump Queen in all her glory. I just kept wondering how freaking HOT she must be in that gown because it was like 97 degrees outside – but, she never let us see her sweat!

Gawk at Mega Melons: Nothing like a bit of friendly competition (and prize of $6,5000) to see whose thumb is the greenest when it comes to raising up watermelons from seeds to super-sized things of wonder. The 2019 Grand Champion watermelon at the Luling Watermelon Thump was brought by Mike Donaho and weighted in at 141 lbs and 1 ounces – uhhhh, that’s about 20 lbs heavier than me! Seeing such a large watermelon made me rethink (and retire) my ongoing brag that “I could eat more than my weight in watermelon”!

Belly Up to a Watermelon-eating Contest: When in Rome . . . so to speak! Of course, I couldn’t resist signing myself and the hubby up for the Watermelon Eating contest. There were three divisions – little kids (5-7), school-age kids (8-14), and older teens and adults (15+). The little kids were ADORABLE, the middle kids were MESSY, big kids (us) were just plain CRAZY. As soon as I sat down, someone sitting on the diagonal recognized me which turned on my competition-mode button. One-two-three, GO! Watermelon juice and pulp was flying, I’ve never seen people dig into watermelon with quite so much gusto -even me! However, a few seconds in, I started regretting the bottle of water I had previously chugged, hit a patch of seeds, and knew I didn’t have what it took to take the title.

Get Active: Many small-town festivals have a carnival midway (the Thump included), but I’m always looking for something to get my heart pumping under my own volition – like a 5k, obstacle course, rock climbing wall. I found a rock wall at The Thump and scurried my way up to the top (more because my barefoot feet were burning on the grips than fine-tuned skill). In addition, walking around a small-town festival all day racks up the steps– I logged nearly 20k steps on my Garmin!

Spit Some Seeds: The Luling Watermelon Thump is home to the World Championship Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest and has a permanent venue for the event! How awesome is THAT! The most recent world record “spit” and the festival happed in 1989 by a local, Lee Wheelis, who record a spitting distance of 68 feet, 9 1/8 inches. I gave seed spitting a go in warm-ups (apparently rolling your tongue is part of the skill) but just couldn’t set sail to my seed. Had fun trying though.

Explore the Vendor Expo:  I just have to say, the vendors selling crafts and home-y goods give small-town festivals a lot of their charming vibe. Saw lots of fun watermelon stuff and one-of-a-kind things strolling from tent to tent at the Luling Watermelon Thump. Lol, even saw Mexican embroidered peasant tops just like the ones I saw in Playa del Carmen a few weeks ago – but they were half the price

Munch on Melon-inspired Food:  At a watermelon festival, you’ll find all the usually fair food like funnel cakes, burgers, snow cones, street corn and such – but you’ll also find some watermelon things too. At the Watermelon Thump I saw everything from simple cups of cubed watermelon (a great way to stay hydrated since watermelon is 92% water) to these super cute watermelon cookies.

Enjoy Watermelon Libations: Cheers to watermelon libations, the hubby and I are not big drinkers but we couldn’t resist trying a few sips of these festive watermelon drinks!

Get a Slice o’ Style: You’ll want to wear, purchase or at least people watch for the best of the best watermelon wear. At the Watermelon Thump in Luling, I spotted awesome watermelon hats (in addition to my own), watermelon dresses, watermelon shirts, and even got an up close and personal look at the Watermelon Queen’s sparkly watermelon boots!

Kick Back to Music: There is no telling what you’ll find in the musical line-up at a watermelon festival – a little something for everyone! Whatever the tunes, whether polka or rap or country, it’s a nice break to sit down by the stage and relax . . . that is, until you’re ready to bust out the moves). I know the Luling Watermelon Thump had some great artists lined up over the weekend, let me know if you stayed to hear any of them!

Have you been to a Watermelon Festival or any other local food celebration? Where and what? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer