The Watermelon Festival Committee has decided on a theme for next year's festival. It will honor Korean War Veterans.
"I think Korean War veterans have been left out of any kind of recognition," Chairman Robert Brown said. "I think it's time somebody does something for them."
The grand marshal will be decided based on the highest decorated officer or highest ranking Korean War veteran.
"War veterans, there is a bunch of folks out there," Brown said. "When we go to war today, it's not like when they served."

The Hampton County Watermelon Festival Committee debated the subject of on- and off-site vendors during its July 28 meeting but took no action, leaving the matter still very much up in the air for debate.
Controversy has risen among the all-volunteer committee dedicated to promoting the county and its festival.
The debate centers on whether to continue the practice of issuing permits for off-site food and concession vendors, or to require all vendors to set up shop at the same location during the annual Watermelon Festival.

It's now official: The 69th annual Hampton County Watermelon Festival is off to a crazy, but fun-filled start.
On Friday night nine hairy men came together, with a little help from some female friends, dabbed on a little makeup, tried on a few dresses, and offered Festival fans some pretty sights (I use these words loosely) like they've never seen before - The Mr. Hampton County Pageant.

BATTLE OF THE TOWNS UPDATES...News flash, festival fans: The 69th annual Hampton County Watermelon Festival is now underway and is off to an unbelievably awesome start!

After last week's always-popular Melon Miss and Master Pageant and the Motorcycle Ride, this weekend officially kicked things off with the Mr. Hampton County Pageant on Friday, followed by Family Fun Day and the Miss Coastal Empire Pageant on Saturday.

What's it like to grow the "official" Hampton County Watermelon Festival watermelons?
It's good old-fashioned hard work you can take pride in. Just ask Don and Lorraine Mixon, who have been growing HCWF melons for over 20 years at their farm on Russell Road just a couple of miles outside Hampton.
"You can take pride in this, and a lot of people have lost their sense of pride," said Lorraine. "People don't realize it is a lot of work, but it's worth it when they talk about how good our melons are. People say they beat Florida melons anytime."

Guess what, watermelon lovers? Only eight days and a wake up until the 69th Hampton County Watermelon Festival officially blasts off, and I don't know about you but I am as excited as a crow in an all-you-can-eat melon patch!
We've got a lot of good news to talk about, but before we get busy we need to get into the proper Watermelon Festival spirit. So here's what we need to do:
First, lay the newspaper down for just a moment and run go put on your brand-spanking new official Watermelon Festival T-shirt. What? You don't have one yet?

The time has come, my friends. Can you smell the watermelons?
One of the great things about the Hampton County Watermelon Festival is that it's so large and awesome that we can't pack it all into one week, so we actually have a few PRE-festival events coming up, and I don't want them to slip up on us.
I don't want any of you festival-loving folks to miss one minute of the upcoming 69th annual Hampton County Watermelon Festival, so listen closely, grab a pen and mark your calendar, and let's get started.

Guess what, Watermelon Lovers? It's almost that time again. Hampton County Watermelon Festival time, that is!
The 69th edition of The Festival is just under a month away, and do you know what you're going to wear? How you're going to fix your hair?
The guys who are competing in the Mr. Hampton County pageant do.

A crowd gathered Tuesday for the opening ceremonies of the Fall Festival and the ribbon cutting of the Estill Walking Trail.
"It's a great feeling," Estill Mayor Anderson Taylor said. "So many people worked together as a team."
Taylor said the best part about the Fall Festival is seeing the citizens fellowship and enjoy one another, which is just what they did at the opening ceremonies. A crowd of well over 100 walked the trail together after the ribbon cutting.

Wow, what a week it's been in the Watermelon Capital of the World!
Officials, volunteers, and most spectators alike would likely agree that you can mark the 68th annual Hampton County Watermelon Festival off as a whopping success.