Watermelon Seed Spitting, Community Festivals Highlight July 4 Celebrations

Nearly every town, big and small, has some sort of Independence Day celebration. We set out to find some of the state’s best, and most intriguing festivities. As it turns out, Oklahoma has a lot to offer the patriotic festival goer. In fact, some events have made it in the national spotlight. Edmond’s LibertyFest has made CNN’s and USA Today’s list of the top 10 Fourth of July celebrations in the Nation.

But LibertyFest isn’t the only celebration in Oklahoma garnering national attention. Every July 4 a small town of just over 6,ooo people an hour south of Oklahoma City produces a World Champion.
 

Pauls Valley

Pauls Valley is home to the World Championship Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest. According to the city’s website, the contest has been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records, as well as Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

The 59th annual event takes place at Thompson Field at Pauls Valley High School at 5 p.m.. It’s divided into six categories; male and female, 12 and under, 13 to 18 and 19 and over.

For those of you who might be reading this in your car on your way to the supermarket to get a watermelon, we have got some tips on seed spitting from the National Watermelon Board’s Jesse Wiggins.

1. Place the seed with the little end pointing out.
2. Get the seed nice and lubricated.
3. (OPTIONAL) Curl your tongue around the seed to make a barrel for it to shoot down.
4. Lean back and thrust forward while spitting to maximize the velocity of the seed.

Now, Wiggins says all of these tips are subjective, and you may actually spit a seed farther if someone makes you laugh than if you follow all of his suggestions.

The world record Watermelon Seed Spit distance is 75 feet and 2 inches, or 7 times as far as most people they think they could spit a seed.

The Southern Rock band “The Middle of Nowhere” preforms after the contest.  

Edmond

The City of Edmond’s annual LibertyFest lasts for more than a week and hosts the state’s largest Fourth of July Parade.

Thursday’s concert in the park at the University of Central Oklahoma features the UCO Summer Band conducted by Dr. Brian Lamb.

LibertyFest will kick off the Fourth with a parade through downtown Edmond at 9 a.m. Organizers say last year over 50,000 people were in attendance and they are warning parking could be tough. Team USA Paralympic athletes from the UCO Olympic and Paralympic training site will lead the parade.

Later in the day UCO hosts Park-fest beginning at 6 p.m. with inflatables, carnival rides, and food venders, including watermelon.

The firework display will also be on the UCO campus and is set to begin around 9.

Yukon

The City of Yukon says the Chisholm Trail Park’s recent infestation of the Mississippi Kite Bird won’t stop Freedom Fest from going on.

The Oklahoma City Philharmonic performs to the backdrop of the city’s firework display following retro band and Oklahoma City favorite “Super Freak.”

The event begins at 5 p.m. on the Fourth and will include live music and cold watermelon.

The territorial Mississippi Kite Bird has taken residence in the park. Organizers say the birds will be on the opposite side of the park, apart from “Freedom Fest.” However, they warn if visitors go outside of the celebration area, they should take a hat and an umbrella.

Bricktown, Oklahoma City

Bricktown will put on a firework display following the Oklahoma City Dodgers game against Colorado Springs. The bombs bursting midair will be visible from all around Bricktown, so grab a seat at a patio or rooftop restaurant for the show.

DJ Roy “Musicman” Henderson will be playing family-oriented Top 40 and Country music on the river walk beginning at 7 p.m.

With so much to do, see and experience in Central Oklahoma, the OneSix8 blog explores meaningful arts and entertainment options for the KGOU audience. Our calendar of community events features live music, theater, outdoors and educational activities, volunteer opportunities and more. We welcome submissions to the calendar for possible listing, coverage and on-air announcement.

KGOU relies on voluntary contributions from readers and listeners to further its mission of public service with arts and culture reporting for Oklahoma and beyond. To contribute to our efforts, make your donation online, or contact our Membership department.