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Watermelon queens bring smiles to Rehoboth Boardwalk

Annual event celebrates sweet-tasting fruit at height of season
Mar-Del Watermelon Queen Jenna Anger hands out a couple of slices to Fenwick Island residents Samantha Scullen, center, and her mom Terri Scullen. CHRIS FLOOD PHOTOS
Chris Flood
August 9, 2022

Story Location:
Boardwalk
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

National Watermelon Day was Aug. 3,  and to celebrate the annual event, representatives from the Mar-Del Watermelon Association and the National Watermelon Association handed out fresh-cut slices of watermelon on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Aug. 4.

Watermelon queens donned their tiaras and pageant sashes to hand out roughly 45 sliced and diced watermelons. The weather was perfect for eating watermelon – hot and sunny, with a little breeze. With big smiles on their faces, people of all ages scarfed down the refreshing treats.

Those who missed the giveaway can plan ahead: National Watermelon Day 2023 will be Thursday, Aug. 3, which means the watermelon queens will probably be on the Boardwalk sometime near that date.

For more information on the Mar-Del Watermelon Association or its queen program, go to mardelwatermelon.org.

Just like election day, stickers were being handed out showing people ate their watermelon.
Bo Gibson, 17 months old, from Florida, got his picture taken last year at the same event. The only difference is that he’s walking now.
Valentino, 8, and brother Mateo, 3, show how to properly eat a watermelon – with your mouth open as wide as possible.
Mar-Del Watermelon Association Promotion Coordinator Terra Eby slices up some watermelon.
Dressed in event-appropriate attire are Alisa Lapide, from Florida-based Melon 1, and Kerri Wiggins, National Watermelon Association queen co-coordinator.
The promotional group sliced 45 watermelons for the event.
National Watermelon Queen Bethany Barfield, from Florida, hands out some slices to Rehoboth Beach Patrol lifeguards Brady Cole and Bryan Garcia.
If you’re going to have a tent on a hot day of handing out watermelons, you might as well have a watermelon-themed one.
Watermelon season here in Delaware is August, which means you might need a fan to cool off while eating one.

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Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.

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