Watermelon Thump Festival a Texas Tradition for 62 Years and Counting

— -- Most days of the year, Luling, Texas is a sleepy town of around 5,500 people. Come late June, though, that number swells to 35,000, and it’s all because of watermelon.

Since 1954, Luling has been host to the Watermelon Thump, a four-day festival celebrating all things watermelon. It was started by Hermon Allen, a school principal who proposed the idea of a celebration to honor the growers and promote Luling’s watermelon market. A contest was held to name the event, and the Thump won out. Its name comes from the practice of thumping to test whether a watermelon is ripe — merely thump the top of the melon and listen to the sound. A dull thud usually means ripe, whereas a hollow sound isn’t so good.

Weekend events include the seed-spitting contest, parade, music acts, food booths, crafts, carnival rides and melon auction, which raises money to support local growers.

Stanley White, 84, a watermelon and cattle farmer, took home this year’s $5,000 prize for the biggest watermelon at 52 pounds and 6 ounces.

“This is my 13th year, and I’ve just won it this year. It took about 100 days to grow,” White told ABC News. “I’m going to pay bills with the money — it takes a lot of money to grow melons!”

The festival’s main event — the seed-spitting contest — was again a crowd favorite. Ryan Robertson, 38, won by blowing his seed 55 feet and 6 inches — just 13 feet shy of the world record, which was set at the Thump in 1989.

“I’m very proud. I didn’t practice at all — I think you can either spit seeds or you can’t,” Robertson told ABC News. “Past champions include an uncle and a cousin, so there are quite a few of us who have spit and won. It’s not really competitive so much as it is just a gathering around with your friends and having a good time. It’s a lot of laughing. I don’t think you can take watermelon seed spitting too seriously.”

Serious or not, Robertson still won $500 for the skill, which he plans to seriously invest in Lone Star beer.

Robertson, who has competed in the event for 30 years and won as a child and teen, said that the Watermelon Thump is ingrained in the community.

“I guess you have to understand small town Texas, but it’s a gathering of all the good people from the little towns around,” he explained. “We get together and celebrate good times and watermelon, I suppose.”