Countdown To Chaos: One Post At A Time

By Editor | July 23, 2025 |

Chamber Report
By Jessie Gurner

It was me. I’ll admit it. And it seemed like such a good idea at the time. “Let’s do a 30-day countdown to the Watermelon Carnival on Facebook!” I even said it with a smile. Probably while sipping sweet tea and feeling entirely too pleased with myself. “We’ll post some pictures with a little watermelon fact or Carnival tidbit every day. It’ll be cute! Fun! People will love it!”

And you know what? It was fun. At first.

I gleefully kicked it off with: 30 Days Until the Carnival! Whether you’re a seed-spitting champ, a watermelon enthusiast, or just here for the lemonade and shade, we’re glad you’re part of the fun. Let the countdown begin!

Oh, it began alright.

The facts were easy to find. I learned that Americans eat 15 pounds of watermelon a year. That yellow watermelons are sweeter than red ones. That the rind is edible, and you can grill it, pickle it, roast the seeds—basically, turn it into a five-course meal if you’re determined enough.

I started adding sass and sparkle: Water Valley folks just call 15 pounds of watermelon breakfast. The Black Diamond is the Timothée Chalamet of the melon world. You can bump into the Queen, climb a fire truck, and see your entire graduating class—all before your funnel cake.

The posts were shared and liked. People were enjoying it.

But while I was writing cheerful facts and sprinkling in watermelon emojis, something unexpected was happening behind the scenes: The Chamber Board was watching those numbers tick away day by day.

The posts were fun, but the countdown numbers? The numbers were ominous.

28 Days Until the Carnival! Tanya Eubanks sees it, thinks of BBQ teams, brisket, smokers, and sauce—and suddenly remembers just how long her to-do list is.

24 Days Until the Carnival! Zandra Walker’s eye starts twitching. “Where am I going to put all these vendors?”

20 Days! At a board meeting chamber president Curtis Todd asks, “Where are the signs for the by-pass?” and the entire room suddenly goes quiet as everyone wonders where on earth are those signs.

The countdown was never supposed to cause emotional distress. I just wanted to share some history and fun. I wanted to remind people why the Carnival is so special. I did not mean to trigger group-wide insomnia and compulsive to-do list updates.

By Day 15, it was like sending out daily emergency alerts. With cute emojis.

Every time I typed, “Only ___ days left!” somewhere a board member was internally screaming, “NO, DON’T SAY IT OUT LOUD!”

And let me be clear: none of us are new to this. The Watermelon Carnival is a two-day whirlwind with months of prep work. We’ve all been here, done that, and know how much goes into it. But there’s something about seeing the countdown in print every morning that makes your blood pressure spike like it’s ten minutes before the Opening Ceremonies and someone says, “We forgot the porta-potties.”

By Day 12, I started to feel it myself.

By Day 11, I noticed I was adding more exclamation marks than usual, like I was trying to distract from the rising panic.

I’m writing this at Day 10, and we’ve hit the part of the countdown where board members are probably stress eating watermelon.

The good news is—we will be ready.

The Carnival will be beautiful and joyful and full of everything you love. The stage will light up. The fireworks will boom. The vendors will bring the crafts, the food and the shade. The Queen will smile, the kids will dance, and the melons will weigh more than some of our Chamber members.

But if you happen to see a Chamber board member before then, and they look just a little frazzled, please know—we love this.
We really do. We’re just also quietly sweating every time I post “Only ___ days left!”

So yes, the countdown was my idea.

Yes, I’m still posting every day.

And no, I will never, ever do it again.

Posted in Archived Stories