The Work Behind The Weekend
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Chamber Report
By Jessie Gurner
By the time this column appears, Water Valley will have entered the final stage of getting ready for the Watermelon Carnival.
This is the stage when banners are hanging, grass is being cut, flowers are getting an extra drink of water and people all over town are asking important questions such as, “Who has the extension cords?” and “Was somebody supposed to pick up the tables?”
Visitors will begin arriving soon for the 56th annual Watermelon Carnival, but the work that makes the weekend possible began months ago. Before the first vendor sets up or the first musician takes the stage and the Watermelon Queen sends a melon sailing toward Central Street, hundreds of details have already been handled behind the scenes.
There have been contracts, permits, telephone calls, sponsorships, schedules, maps, advertisements, vendor applications, T-shirt orders and more telephone calls. Musicians have been booked, sound arrangements made, stages planned and locations measured. Vendors have been assigned spaces, sponsors have been recognized, and volunteers have been recruited. Then, just when everyone believes the arrangements are complete, someone (we’re all looking at you, Tonya Eubanks) remembers one more thing.
The Chamber may be the presenting organization, but the Watermelon Carnival has never been the work of one organization. It is a community effort in the truest sense.
Chamber board member Jake Moorhead and the crew from Moorhead Off-Road Engineering cleaned, mowed and trimmed around the large WATER VALLEY entrance signs. That work is especially appreciated because those signs are not conveniently located on nice, level ground. They sit on hills steep enough to make mowing feel like an outdoor sporting event.
The Town and Country Garden Club has continued caring for the flowers and landscaping that visitors will see throughout the weekend. Garden Club members have watered downtown planters, tended Railroad Park and The Civic and helped keep the community looking welcoming during some very hot Mississippi weather.
Watermelon Queen Preslee Fischer has represented Water Valley beautifully in the weeks leading up to Carnival. She has attended community events, appeared in promotional photographs and carried the Carnival invitation beyond Water Valley through her television appearance on WTVA. She will be joined during the weekend by Gulf Coast Watermelon Queen Jennifer Diaz, continuing a friendship between the two watermelon celebrations.
The Water Valley Utilities Commission has helped get us ready for company, including installing new LED streetlights around City Park. Those lights will make a welcome difference in safety, especially during Friday night’s Street Dance and fireworks. The Commission’s sanitation crews will be busy before and will be busy throughout the weekend as well, no small job when several thousand people come to visit.
The Water Valley Police Department has made arrangements for additional safety throughout the weekend. The Water Valley Fire Department has also helped with everything from checking food-vendor setups to approving fireworks plans, and they will be ready to step in wherever needed. Most of this work takes place before the crowds arrive and without much fanfare, but it is a big part of what helps Carnival weekend feel safe, clean and welcoming.
Downtown businesses, restaurants, shops and galleries are also getting ready. Windows are being decorated, shelves are being stocked and a little extra thought is going into making visitors feel welcome. These local businesses are part of what makes Water Valley feel like home, and Carnival weekend is a good time to stop in, look around, enjoy a meal and support the neighbors who support this community all year long.
Behind Renasant Bank, barbecue teams will begin arriving for the 16th annual Train Tracks Pork Attack. Cookers, judges and volunteers will turn an ordinary area into a serious barbecue competition, complete with smoke and good smells.
Other volunteers are preparing the 38th annual BankFirst 3K Walk/Run, the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, Touch-A-Truck, the antique car display and parade, the Junior Auxiliary Watermelon Games, the youth watermelon contest and the Largest Watermelon Contest. Musicians are preparing for performances at the gazebo, Bobby Murphree is handling sound, and the air-conditioned trolley is ready to move visitors between City Park and downtown.
Cayce Washington is preparing to continue one of Carnival’s most popular traditions by slicing and handing out free watermelon Saturday afternoon. Last year, he gave away approximately 1,200 slices. That requires watermelons, tables, knives, volunteers and the courage to stand between a crowd of Carnival visitors and free watermelon.
Friday night’s events require another entire layer of preparation. FNB-Water Valley is sponsoring the Street Dance featuring Charlie Mars and the Spunk Monkees. BankFirst and the Chamber are sponsoring the fireworks show produced by B&B Pyrotechnics. The music accompanying the fireworks will be available through the Pyrocast app, which means even the sky over City Park now comes with technical instructions and an access code.
The weekend would not be possible without the businesses and individuals who provide sponsorships. Their support pays for entertainment, advertising, equipment, activities and many of the details visitors enjoy for free. Their willingness to invest in Carnival is an investment in Water Valley itself.
This Carnival also carries special meaning for the Chamber as we move through our first Carnival season without Zandra Walker. For many years, Zandra was at the center of the planning, answering questions, keeping track of details and knowing who to call when something needed to be done. Her absence has been deeply felt.
Her name and her love for Water Valley will remain part of the weekend through the Zandra Walker Heart of Water Valley Scholarship. A donation jar supporting the scholarship will be available during Saturday morning’s BankFirst 3K Run/Walk. It is a fitting way to honor someone who gave so much of herself to our town.
By Friday, most of the preparation will disappear from view and this is exactly as it should be. The best events look effortless because so many people have worked very hard to make them feel that way.
