Howell Melon Festival
Encyclopedia
The Howell Melon Festival is a food festival
held in mid-August which showcases the Howell melon, a cantaloupe
hybrid claimed to be found only in the area surrounding Howell, Michigan
. The first Howell Melon Festival was held in 1960. About 50,000 people attend the three day festival each year.
In years past, the highlight of the festival was a beauty contest
to elect the Howell Melon Queen. The very first Melon Queen, a beautiful nurse, won a trip to Washington, D.C.
where she met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower
at the White House
. The news wires picked up the story of the beauty queen
and the Howell melons, earning front page stories in the Chicago Tribune
and the Los Angeles Times
, and "that's how the Howell melon got famous", according to Dr. Louis May, organizer of the first festival.
The festival is now managed by the Howell Downtown Development Authority. Instead of a Melon Queen, the new tradition is to elect children as Melon Prince and Princess, Mini Prince and Princess, and (the youngest category) Sprout Prince and Princess .
The festival includes an ice cream eating contest and a large parade
that will be reintroduced in 2010. Howell melons are available for tasting and purchase, with up to 200,000 melons sold each year.
The first Howell melons were grown by August "Gus" Smith, a local farmer, who was given the original seeds by an itinerant hobo
during the Great Depression
. The taste of the melon soon won over other farmers who soon planted the distinctive melon elsewhere in Livingston County
.
Food festival
A food festival is a festival, usually held annually, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. "These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season...
held in mid-August which showcases the Howell melon, a cantaloupe
Cantaloupe
"Rockmelon" redirects here, for the band see Rockmelons. See also Cantaloupe .Cantaloupe refers to a variety of Cucumis melo, a species in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes range in size from...
hybrid claimed to be found only in the area surrounding Howell, Michigan
Howell, Michigan
Howell is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 9,489. It is the county seat of Livingston County and is located mostly within Howell Township, but is politically independent from Howell Township...
. The first Howell Melon Festival was held in 1960. About 50,000 people attend the three day festival each year.
In years past, the highlight of the festival was a beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
to elect the Howell Melon Queen. The very first Melon Queen, a beautiful nurse, won a trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where she met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. The news wires picked up the story of the beauty queen
Beauty Queen
"Beauty Queen" is the second song from Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure. The lyrics refer to Ferry's girlfriend, Valerie Leon, one-time UK beauty queen, B-movie actress and model working in the Newcastle area, circa 1973.-Musicians:...
and the Howell melons, earning front page stories in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and "that's how the Howell melon got famous", according to Dr. Louis May, organizer of the first festival.
The festival is now managed by the Howell Downtown Development Authority. Instead of a Melon Queen, the new tradition is to elect children as Melon Prince and Princess, Mini Prince and Princess, and (the youngest category) Sprout Prince and Princess .
The festival includes an ice cream eating contest and a large parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
that will be reintroduced in 2010. Howell melons are available for tasting and purchase, with up to 200,000 melons sold each year.
The first Howell melons were grown by August "Gus" Smith, a local farmer, who was given the original seeds by an itinerant hobo
Hobo
A hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The taste of the melon soon won over other farmers who soon planted the distinctive melon elsewhere in Livingston County
Livingston County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 156,951 people, 55,384 households, and 43,531 families residing in the county. The population density was 276 people per square mile . There were 58,919 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
.