Rush Springs Watermelon Festival returns this weekend

RUSH SPRINGS — For Audrey Heath, the world is her stage. From recently graduating from her high school as valedictorian to her new position as the 2024 Rush Springs Watermelon Queen, it seems that nothing can stop her.

Anyone can “Watermelon Crawl” to the 79th annual Rush Springs Watermelon Festival from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Jeff Davis Park, 301 Chestnut Street in Rush Springs.

There will be many events happening, including the return of the Melon Made food contest and the Seed Spitting Contest, which Heath will take part in.

“I like to think that I’m very outgoing,” Heath said. “When I have a dream, I try my hardest to chase it.”

But she’s not done yet.

“I plan to attend UCO (University of Central Oklahoma) in the fall and major in nursing,” Heath said.

A member of the Southern Baptist Church in Rush Springs, Heath also is a part of the worship band, among other things.

“I play the drums,” Heath said. “I try and share the love of Christ to anyone and everyone that I meet.”

Heath comes from four generations of watermelon farmers, making her new title quite fitting.

“I’ve dreamed of becoming the Watermelon Queen for a very, very long time, since I was a little girl,” Heath said. “Now that I finally have this privilege, I’ve had so much fun fulfilling my role.”

For the Heath household, the fight for the throne is genetic.

“My grandfather’s sister ran for Watermelon Queen and she got second place,” Heath said. “Whenever I told my grandfather that I was running for Watermelon Queen, he was so excited to possibly have a queen in his family. Whenever I did win, he was so excited.”

Heath was excited when she got her title as well.

“I ran last year and I got second,” Heath said. “I loved running so much that I wanted to run again. Whenever I ended up getting the title and winning, I can’t really describe it in words, but I was beyond thrilled to have this opportunity.”

Heath has many goals as the Watermelon Queen.

“My goal is to do the best that I can to promote my town and get the word of the festival (to) as many people as I possibly can,” Heath said. “I also want to share the love that our hometown has for other people visiting our town.”

Heath said the process to choose the Watermelon Queen is complicated.

“It starts in February,” Heath said. “We have about two meetings to decide if we want to run. Then we have something called ‘Queen Night’ in May. We have five weeks to sell tickets for Queen Night. (The night of), we’re asked one interview question on stage in front of an auditorium (of) about 300 people. Then we also have to write a speech and have it memorized. Once we answer the question and say our speech, then people vote.”

The decision is “more like a math equation,” Heath said.

“It’s 30 percent of our town’s vote, then 30 percent of how much money we raise and then 40 percent of our judges’ pick,” Heath said. “Let’s say, for example, there’s two candidates. If she wins the ticket sales and then the popular vote, she would win. If I only won the judge’s portion, I only have 40 percent, but she has 60 percent.”

In a nutshell, the one with the biggest percentage wins.

In order to qualify as the future Rush Springs Watermelon Queen, participants must be at least 16 years old and attend Rush Springs High School, Heath said.

Heath said they choose the queen in May, but the official coronation isn’t until the festival.

“It’s all about our past,” Heath said. “In the past, they would crown the Watermelon Queen at the festival. It’s kind of a tradition.”

The Watermelon Festival had a humble beginning, Heath said.

“It started (in 1940) as an end of harvest celebration for our farmers in our town,” Heath said. “We kept inviting more people all over the state. Now it’s a celebration for not only the end of harvest, but also just tradition and for our town to welcome in so many people. We welcome in about 30,000 people into our park.”

One of Heath’s favorite events at the festival is the Prize Melon Exhibit.

“You can walk through there and see what our growers have accomplished throughout the season, from the pretty black diamonds to the big watermelons,” Heath said.

Food and drink concessions are available all day at the festival. There will be free parking at the football field with free bus rides to the festival and downtown all day.

For more information, contact Mary Hill, festival chairman, at (405) 714-8590, or go to the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival’s Facebook page.