36th annual Carytown Watermelon Festival

From 36th annual Carytown Watermelon Festival Website:

Sweet smells of coconut-scented sunscreen and deep-fried elephant ears waft across the stages and past the crowds that come annually to experience the Watermelon Festival. The streets are filled with people seemingly enchanted by the music, fanfare and sweet aromas.

Big bands, jugglers, and folk acts entertain from 5 outdoor stages - presented by Capital One. The Carytown Watermelon Festival - presented by Publix Super Markets - is an experience no one should forgo; this is the jubilant peak of summer in Richmond. This past year, over 115,000 people made their way to the celebration, buzzing like bees to the hive. The Shriners sliced through a record number of watermelons, feeding the swarms of visitors almost 3000 juicy melons.

The festival continues to bring the masses out with expectations each year topping the previous year. There are nearly 50 performances scheduled each year and more than one hundred street vendors that transform Cary Street into the granddaddy of street festivals. Merchants decorate their windows with watermelon motifs, while the real watermelons are ripe for the picking and are given a royal welcome in Carytown each August.