RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Get a slice of summer during the 42nd annual Carytown Watermelon Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11.
The free annual festival, which will take place on a pedestrianized West Cary Street between South Nansemond Street and South Arthur Ashe Boulevard, will feature 3,000 watermelons, multiple stages for live music and a kids area.
“It’s really about family and community — and being in Carytown is pretty cool,” Mike Murphy, managing partner with Three One One Productions, told 8News. “People will plan their vacations around this and their family reunions, so it’s whether you start or end at the Carytown Watermelon Festival, it’s a landmark, and it’s a thing to do.”
Bowls of watermelon will be sold for $2, with proceeds benefitting local Shriners. Murphy says the festival began decades ago when Carytown businesses were trying to stay afloat during the hot summer months.
“The merchants would set out slices of watermelon in the middle of the dog days of summer to promote business and to draw customers in,” he said. “Over the period of the years following, it kept growing and growing and growing. Then one year they were like, ‘Hey, we should close the streets and have a festival,’ and that’s how it all came about.”