Hope Watermelon Festival Celebrates 50 Years!

Children smiling with watermelon slices at a picnic table.

1 /

Hope, Arkansas grows watermelons like nowhere else, big enough for the Guinness Book of World Records, notable enough for a U.S. President's table and worthy of an annual celebration. Now in its 50th year, The Hope Watermelon Festival is a three-day party for the whole family with watermelon-themed contests and games, food vendors, a 5k race and live entertainment.

The 2026 Hope Watermelon Festival will be held from Thursday, Aug. 6 until Saturday, Aug. 8. Gretchen Wilson, country music star and winner of 'The Masked Singer," will take the stage on Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. and close out the 2026 event with an unforgettable show. Concert tickets are on sale now!

Children enjoying slices of watermelon at an outdoor gathering.

History of the Watermelon Festival

While 50 years may seem like a long time for a watermelon festival, The Watermelon Festival’s roots date all the way back to the 1920s. People traveled far and wide on trains to see the giant watermelons the town produced. Senators and governors made speeches and even crowned a watermelon queen during the gatherings.

After taking a downturn during the Depression years, the festival was eventually revived because of a record 195-pound watermelon grown in town in the 1930s. News of the record melon made the rounds, and it was eventually sent to people like Arkansas native and actor Dick Powell (1904-1963) and Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. President.

The festival in its current form dates to the 1970s, and it was after this that the Hope Watermelon Festival, which is included in the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame in the Best Food-Themed Event category, became the annual tradition it is today.

World-Record Watermelons

“The Hope Watermelon Festival provides a wonderful celebration for the juicy, sweet melons grown right here in Hope and Hempstead County,” said Christy Burns, Executive Director of the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce. “Being able to showcase these watermelons in so many various ways makes our festival bigger and better. These melons pull people from all over to enjoy food, fun and entertainment together so that they enjoy our delicious watermelons.”

Child in pink dress eating watermelon on a picnic table.

Hope has a well-known history tied to not only sweet watermelons, but record-breaking ones.

“The competition for growing big melons was a creation of John S. Gibson, who, in 1916, began to offer modest prizes for the largest vegetables and watermelons,” said Burns. “Hugh and Edgar Laseter, local farmers, developed a seed line to try to win the contest. Hugh grew Arkansas’ first giant watermelon in 1925. The 136-pound melon harvested on August 12, 1925, generated the excitement that led to the first watermelon festival, held the following year. We have continued to grow these large melons and celebrate them throughout the years, including this year.”

World record watermelons can’t be mentioned without mentioning the Bright family, who grew record-breaking watermelons in the region, including ones that landed into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Learn more about Hope’s history at the Hope Visitor Center and Museum, located at 100 E. Division St., in a former Union Pacific Railroad Depot that is now an Amtrak stop. Hope is also home to the President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site and the Klipsch Museum of Audio History. A few miles from town is Historic Washington State Park.

2027 Hope Watermelon Festival

Dog in a watermelon costume lying on grass, smiling with tongue out.

Plans for the 2027 Hope Watermelon Festival are already in the works. The festival is usually held in the first half of August. Follow Hope Watermelon Festival on Facebook for date announcements and festival details. In the meantime, practice your seed spitting and melon eating so you can join in the contest fun.