LULING, Texas — Editor's note: The video posted above is a KVUE report of the Luling Watermelon Thump in 2019.
The 68th annual Luling Watermelon Thump starts this week to celebrate all things watermelon. The Texas festival returns in 2021 after being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
So, what is the Watermelon Thump, you may be wondering?
It all started in 1954, when Hermon Allen, principal of the Luling Elementary School, proposed the idea to celebrate and honor growers and promote the Luling watermelon market. The first thump was held that year and won by a Luling High School student, Carol Ferguson.
Ever since, the thump has been held annually on the last Thursday through Sunday in the month of June. Event organizers say the festival brings in approximately 30,000 visitors to the town of 5,000 people.
Events include live music, seed-spitting contests, a parade, an auction, a car show and, of course, lots of watermelon eating.
Music performances from this year's event include Nathan Cole Young, Silver Bullets, Legado Norte, Brandon Ryhder and Gordon Rockett & The Cavaliers.
KVUE visited the festival in 2019, and reporter Leslie Adami even tried out her luck in the seed-spitting contest. The record for the longest spat seed dates back to 1989, when Dayton Gonzales spit a seed 68 feet and 9 and 1/8 inches.
Other fun aspects to the festival include the coronation of the "Thump Queen." When KVUE went in 2019, Miss Valerie Bermudez won the crown. Dating back to 1954, every year, Luling chooses a high school junior to be the Watermelon Thump Queen. It started as a selection made by the town elders but has since morphed into an election in the town of Luling.
For a look at the full day-by-day schedule, visit the festival website here.
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