To walk through Fair Park and its buildings this first day of the Watermelon Festival was an experience of bright colors, sounds of good-time-having and smells of barbecue.

About two dozen vendors and a dozen food trucks were set up and doing business, having opened on the lunch hour. More will be coming in the next few days.

At the GellyBall tent, Alexei Pierce, who was covering the front table said a brisk business had already been done as of just before 1:00 p.m with over 20 customers. For $10 each, kids or adults are allowed a plastic pistol with 750 jelly bead rounds and can stay in the tent of obstacles firing at opponents as long as it takes to exhaust the ammunition.

In the Covered Pavilion, Wendell Williamson, who has been coming to the Watermelon Festival since the Clinton Administration was displaying many of his intricate graphite pencil drawings, depicting 40s-era miitary aircraft and ships as well as rustic scenes. Many are shown in the pictorial below with other photos taken during the Festival's first hour.

Pictures by Tyler Cox.