World's Largest Watermelon Slice Sculpture, world record in Green River, Utah
Green River, Utah, United States--A gigantic watermelon slice is stored in an open-air shed in the parking lot of the John Wesley Powell River Museum, in Green River, Utah; it was built to help celebrate Green River, Utah's Watermelon Days festival; THE 20-foot-long, 10-foot-tall wooden watermelon slice sets the world record for being the World's Largest Watermelon Slice Sculpture, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.
Photos: World's Largest Watermelon Slice Sculpture
(1-6) Facebook/Melon Days
"Yes, this is a wooden watermelon that is built on a car chases. The gigantic fruit slice is stored in an open-air shed in the parking lot of the John Wesley Powell River Museum," the Five People Fifty States says.
"There are no signs, no information, just the melon. Our stop took about 5 minutes and wasn’t out of our way by more than a mile.
"As you can tell by the picture, the kids were not impressed. But they can now add the World’s Largest Watermelon Slice to their list of “yeah, we’ve seen that.”
"Green River Utah's annual Melon Days Festival, now 118 years old, is a celebration of our town's famously tasty melon varieties and their growers. Our rural town's population swells as locals, family, friends and visitors come together for a weekend of melon-munching fun," the Melon Days says.
"We have three Melon growers in Green River. During harvest season (usually starting in mid/late July and lasting into October) you can pick up your melons any time from Dunham Farms or Vetere Farms by visiting their melon stands along Main Street.
"Green River has had annual celebrations of the locally grown fruit since 1906. Now called “Melon Days,” the town has its annual celebration of its most famous export every third weekend of September. During this special time of year, truckloads of watermelons are cut up and given away to festival-goers courtesy of long time melon growing families, square dancers dance into the night, and Green River’s own come back to reunite with friends and family."
"This giant wooden watermelon was built to help celebrate Green River, Utah's Watermelon Days festival," the Roadtrippers says.
"The 1950s saw this 25 feet long slice of summer juiciness come to life, quite literally - it once housed a working motor (it's now broken) and was driven around town thanks to a hallowed inside where a driver could sit. Now, it's towed around. Still pretty darn cool, though."
"Along the way from Utah to Colorado, I stopped at the World's Largest Watermelon. Because road trips are made for stops like this," the lovemaddily.com says.
"I left the air conditioning of my car and stepped out into the hot heat of the parking lot this watermelon sat in. There wasn't much fanfare, no stand-out sign. Just a painted watermelon at the end of the cement.
"It's 25 feet long, and was originally built in the 1950s in tribute to the town's Watermelon Days. It used to be motorized (not sure how they were able to navigate it or see out of it) but now you can see it's old age on the hollow inside where the motor no longer runs."
"The tiny town of Green River (population 929) may not be big, but it is home to the “World’s Largest Watermelon.” the Watermelon.org says.
"The old wooden wedge is kept in storage in a hangar in the Green River Airfield and makes appearances at events like Green River’s annual Melon Days Festival."
"The fruit gave off a sugary, earthy aroma, and friends and family embraced each other with hands sticky from its juice. Pictures of melons dotted everything from bikini tops to bucket hats. A parade led by the town’s major melon-growing families featured a John Deere tractor pulling a 20-foot-long, 10-foot-tall wooden watermelon slice, originally constructed back in 1960," the High Country News says.
"Melon Days has been celebrated in one form or another here since 1906. It’s the town’s biggest weekend of the year: The population jumps from 800 to 4,000 or 5,000, with this year’s visitors coming from as far away as Alaska and Washington, D.C. Green River’s hot days and cool nights, a product of the town’s high desert climate on the Colorado Plateau, make it an ideal spot for melons, as does the river flowing through the center of town.
"Extreme heat is making working conditions challenging for the farmworkers, who labor in 110-degree temperatures at the peak of summer, Herrera said. “Working under the sun is the worst,” he said."
"While there’s no doubt that we associate watermelon with 4th of July picnics and All-American pastimes, this fruit is actually native to Africa and is enjoyed worldwide. They were known to be carried in the Kalahari Desert as a source of water as long as 5,000 years ago," the Elegant Island Living says.
"According to historians, ancient Egyptians were cultivating watermelons in the Nile River Valley at least by 2,000 BCE as evidenced by paintings found on the walls of Egyptian tombs depicting their unmistakable size and shape. It was the Moors who brought watermelons to Europe around the eighth century. They likely picked up the fruit as they crossed Africa on their way to conquer Portugal and Spain. The Spaniards introduced them to the New World, where the warm climate made them wildly successful.
"The cooler climate in England and northern Europe meant that only those rich enough to have a greenhouse could grow the fruit, but in North America seeds passed from native tribe to native tribe until watermelons were flourishing throughout the Southern and Southwest states. Among early historical references to the fruit in America were the discovery of watermelons growing along the shores of the Mississippi River in 1673 by Jesuit missionary Pere Marquette and a description of large, luscious watermelons recounted by a tourist in colonial Virginia in 1732."
"The World’s Largest Watermelon Slice is a 25-foot long green and pink hunk of melon," the Silly America says.
"Originally built in the 1950s as a parade float for the town’s annual Watermelon Days (now Melon Days) it still graces the town with its presence.
"The giant watermelon used to be motorized but now is towed through the town on a tractor-led platform."
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