By Robin Hunt
Green River hosted its “Always Remember the Melon” event for locals on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11 and 12.
Like so many other events, Green River’s notorious Melon Days was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as melons and the Melon Days celebration are such an important part of Green River’s culture, the city council decided to hold a local melon celebration. This event was intended to still celebrate melons and Green River’s melon growers, without the crowds that usually come for Melon Days, in order to abide by the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Videographer Lance Robbins was hired to do a mini melon documentary. He interviewed melon growers past and present and captured views of melon fields and local farms. The documentary premiered on Friday at the Green River City Park, where locals could come watch while still maintaining social distance. This documentary will be released in segments online over the next week. Check melon-days.com for updates.
Following the documentary, “The Goonies” screened at the city park for families and friends to watch together.
In an effort to support local vendors and organizations who have suffered through this pandemic, a locals only vendor fair was set up at the O.K. Anderson Park on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. Carnival games were run by local organizations and nonprofits. The city’s fire department sold dinner and melon, and delicious desserts were available for purchase from the local PTA.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Maddie Wilson Band performed. “I was super excited to be able to hear her in person. I found her through YouTube and when I heard she was coming, I knew it was going to be a good concert,” said Annie Roundy when asked about the concert. “I enjoyed all of her songs. She even sang before her scheduled time, which I thought was cool. She had some very fun songs that I loved singing with.”
“It was hard to know how the event was going to go,” said Mayor Travis Bacon. “We didn’t know if we were going to have 15, 50 or 500 people here. But all in all, I think it was a successful event, with somewhere between 300 and 400 people in and out.”
