On Saturday, September 5, 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. They then give prizes for the largest weighed item of its type in the world.

            There were a total of six entries for the weighoff with growers coming from Arkansas and Kansas. The winners were:

1st place – Tony Prochaska of Simpson, Kansas with 225.7 pounds;

2nd place – Jerry Lindley of Wynne, Arkansas with 157.5 pounds; and

3rd place – Jeremy Lindley of Wynne, Arkansas with 157.4 pounds.

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 2020 visit http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsGPC.aspx?c=W&y=2020.

Also, Jeremy Lindley of Wynne, Arkansas entered a squash to be weighed in for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth squash competition. The squash officially weighed 244.1 pounds.

            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.