Family Travel Forum - Arkansas' Watermelon Festival

Hope, Arkansas-- the town made famous as Bill Clinton's childhood home-- has another claim to fame: the annual Hope Watermelon Festival. Held each year in mid-August, the festivities usually draw over 50,000 visitors who enjoy the arts 'n' crafts vendors, antique cars and engines, baseball card shows, hot-air balloon rides, a watermelon auction, seed-spitting contests, and of course, all the watermelon you can eat.

Hope has long been a town known for its juicy fruit. Since the 1920's, melons from the town's fields weighing in at over 200 lbs. have piqued national interest.

The first festival came in 1926, and has occurred almost every year since. In addition to the activities mentioned, since 1999, a variety of live musical performances have been featured.

For more information, contact the Hope-Hempstead Chamber of Commerce at 870/777-3640 or visit www.hopemelonfest.com.

For other fun family activities, check out the online resources made available by the state’s tourist office. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism relaunched www.ArkansasKids.com in 2005 to make parents’ trip-planning chores easier by offering kids lots of material about the state.

Now, junior travelers or locals trying to complete a homework assignment will find facts, figures and fun learning games about Arkansas’ 51 state parks, local events and attractions, and famous Arkansans online. Trip planners can use the Family Trip Ideas section, which outlines one- to four-day-long tours around the state.