If the Watermelon Crawl is your thing, then you should head out to the Fair Bluff Watermelon Festival on Saturday, July 29. The town has a full day planned for the annual event, including the comeback of the street dance after festivities are over.
Vendors will set up to peddle their wares starting at 7 a.m., and growers can register watermelons for judging between 7:30 – 9 a.m. The day will officially begin at 8:55 a.m. with the singing of the National Anthem by red fruit royalty Bobbie Nance.
Many activities and contests will take place simultaneously during the festival. The Baby Jr. Miss pageant will be held at 9 a.m. at Fair Bluff Baptist Church, the hat contest will be at 9:05 a.m., and the Bathing Beauties and Little Gents pageant will begin at 9:15 a.m.
Entertainers will take center stage at 9:30 a.m. beginning with Yam Festival queen Alyssa Strickland, and fellows will be able to show off their short shorts and calves with the Legs contest. The watermelon weigh-in and awards presentation will follow, and quality awards will be handed out at 11 a.m.
Youth and adults will try their hand, and mouth, with the Watermelon Eating contest at 10:30 a.m. Junior farmers and farmerettes will duke it out at 11:30 a.m. Break time will be at noon with lunch by local food trucks.
The annual Watermelon Parade will make its way through town at 12:30 p.m. Line-up will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Causey Road, and participants do not have to pay an entry fee for the procession this year.
The schedule for the rest of the afternoon is as follows:
Sassy Queen Contest- 1:45 p.m.
Younger Farmer and Farmerettes Competition- 2 p.m.
Entertainment by N.C. Royalty- 2:15 p.m.
Fair Bluff Rotary Club Duck Race- 2:30 p.m.
Recognition of Visiting Queens- 3:15 p.m.
Princess, Teen Miss, and Queen Pageant- 6 p.m. at Fair Bluff Baptist Church
The final event of the evening will be the Watermelon Festival Street Dance at 7 p.m. in the FBBC parking lot following the pageant. Admission will be $5 each, and refreshments will be available for purchase.
For more information on any of the Watermelon Festival activities, visit the website at https://fairbluffwatermelonfestival.org. The event will be held on Riverside Drive in Fair Bluff.
