Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia displays his 205.5 pound entrant in this year's weigh-off

by Josh Williams, Old Washington State Park

On Saturday, September 3, the Old Washington Farmer’s Market hosted an official watermelon weigh-off site for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth in Washington, Arkansas. The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth provides official venues for growers to weigh several varieties of fruit and vegetables, including watermelons, across the country.  

The winners were: 1st place – Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas with 205.5 pounds and 2nd place – Barbara Bright Jones of Bossier City, Louisiana with 198.6 pounds. One watermelon was entered for “Exhibition Only” category by Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas weighing 193.8 pounds. First place won $500 and Second Place won $300.  

The event was sponsored by: Lagrone Williams Hardware of Hope, Arkansas; Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express & Best Western of Hope, Arkansas;  and City of Washington Tourism.  

The Old Washington Farmers Market Watermelon Weighoff take places every year on the Saturday before Labor Day. It has been the weigh-in site for the current Arkansas and Kansas state records for watermelon.  The current world record for watermelon is held by Chris Kent of Sevierville, Tennessee at 350.5 pounds. To see current watermelon weights worldwide for 2022 visit http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsGPC.aspx?c=W&y=2022.  

For more information and photos check out the Old Washington Farmer’s Market on Facebook. The market takes place every Saturday from May till Labor Day weekend from 8am to Noon providing a place for local produce to be sold. Washington, Arkansas is located on Hwy 278 West just eight miles north from Exit 30 at Hope on US Interstate 30.

Barbara Bright Jones of Bossier City shows off her second-place winning melon that came in at 198.6 pounds.

Youth winners at the Watermelon Weigh-off today.