One of my favorite things about small towns is the festivals! From Crawfish Festival in Woodbine, Georgia, to the Kolache Festival in Prague, Oklahoma, you have to give some props to the creativity of names at least!
This month, on the #SmallTownUSA linky, we’re celebrating these weekends of sketchy rides, deep fried food, homemade crafts, and local entertainment. Our little town is home to the Watermelon Festival. And yes, Russellville is, in fact, the watermelon capital of Alabama. So there!
Each year, the third weekend in August finds our downtown streets closed to make room for all the booths and games and {my favorite} fair food vendors! I gotta admit it, I’m a sucker for some roasted corn on the cob. Heaven on earth, people. Heaven. On. Earth.
But without a doubt my favorite thing about the Watermelon Festival is seeing people enjoying life. No one is in a rush. We all meander from booth to booth and we take time to stop and chat with neighbors. We laugh at children with faces stained from snow cones and cotton candy. We gather our lawn chairs in the parking lot beside the First Baptist Church to listen to the entertainment each evening. We enjoy the giddy screams of children on the fair rides we remember from our own youth.
No one is a stranger at times like this. We start up conversations while we wait for our steak sandwiches from the Franklin County Cattleman’s Association. {Another little piece of heaven on earth.} We tease the person at the booth who is buying a wreath decorated for the “other” team. {That means War Eagle not Roll Tide at the Underwood home.} And we all grin as we mop the sweat from our foreheads and comment, “Sure is a scorcher today.” {August in Alabama. Need I say more?}
It’s beautiful and it’s simple and it’s small town at it’s finest! Here is one of my favorite photos from last year … a proud granddaddy with his granddaughter. Isn’t that sweet???
By the way, if you’re in North Alabama, you should definitely come to the Watermelon Festival … free watermelon for everyone! Also, if you love Pinterest, check out the Watermelon Festival’s boards … they are amazing! Sunday night, several local churches are sponsoring a community-wide worship event with The Martins, The Mizells, and Charlotte Richie. Would love to see you there!
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