Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Tuesday, December 23, 2014
(VINCENNES) - Vincennes, Indiana is preparing for its 7th Annual Watermelon Drop on New Year’s Eve.
The wacky celebration - complete with fireworks, multiple dance teams, music and watermelons dropping to a "splatform" at midnight - has drawn national attention since it began in 2008. Last year, the Watermelon Drop attracted CNN reporter Gary Tuchman who broadcast live coverage as part of CNN's New Year's Eve show that attracted more than 2 million viewers.
"As chair of the 7th Annual National New Year's Eve Watermelon Drop, I am proud that we have found a perfect way to ring in the New Year by featuring our county's widely popular watermelons. I'm also delighted that this year we will add stage performances by dance teams from Vincennes, Washington, and Linton," said Kayla Greentree.
Past Watermelon Drops have been featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show and Country Living's "7 Wacky Ways to Ring in the New Year." The editors of the world's largest travel site, TripAdvisor, Inc., listed the event among its 2011 "Top Ten Quirkiest New Year's Eve Celebrations in America" - a list that also included North Carolina's Possum Drop and Alabama's MoonPie Drop.
"Where else but Vincennes can you watch a 500-pound watermelon rise high in the sky as midnight approaches, culminating in 15 Knox County watermelons dropped on our splatform at the stroke of midnight--including fireworks? There really is no better way to ring in the New Year," said Rick Linnenburg, one of the founding members of the National Watermelon Drop Committee.
Other attractions this year include Illiana Watermelon Queen Emily Brown, music, food and merchandise vendors, a wine and beer garden, and some surprises. The dance team performances will be featured from 9 to 11:20 p.m. and include two performances by teams No Limits, Velocity, XEA, and Tuck Dynasty. Children will enjoy the movie, "Frozen," in a heated tent.
Since its creation in 2008, the 18-foot watermelon has become a star attraction in Vincennes, including being featured in the town's July 4th and Christmas parades, as well as its summer Watermelon Festival. People also enjoy sharing photographs and videos of themselves standing next to the 18-foot-long watermelon throughout the evening on New Year's Eve.
In honor of the event, a poem parody has been created, that captures the building excitement in the community. "'Twas the night before New Year's, when all through the town, all the people were stirring and riverfront bound. The watermelons were shined and stacked with care, in hopes to be selected for a launch through the air. The revelers in Vincennes were all snug and well fed, while visions of smashing watermelons danced in their head."
Why is the watermelon drop in Vincennes?
According to the Illiana Watermelon Association, one of the sponsors of the Watermelon Drop, the credit for the wide popularity of Knox County's great-tasting watermelons is ideal soil deposited by the great glaciers of the Ice-Age. The result is thousands of acres of melon fields in and around Knox County that produce over 7,000 semi truckloads of watermelons every summer. As the county seat of Knox County, Vincennes is proud to features locally grown watermelons for its New Year's Eve celebration.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.