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Last updated on Wednesday, December 20, 2017
(VINCENNES) - The wildly wacky Watermelon Drop returns on New Year’s Eve to downtown Vincennes. Located near the riverfront at First and Main Street, the celebration will feature music by The Coatney’s, led by Casey James Coatney, beginning at 9 p.m. in a giant heated tent, which will also include a beer and wine sales area.
The 10th Annual Watermelon Drop has again attracted national attention. The current issue of Country Woman magazine features a large photo of the Watermelon Drop with the headline, "Countdown to Quirky." The article invites readers to "travel to places that make New Year's Eve distinct, dropping pies, pickles and watermelons at the stroke of midnight."
Previously featured by CNN and CBS, Smithsonian magazine also included the Watermelon Drop in its story, "From Possums to 200 Pounds of Bologna: Weird Things Cities Drop on New Year's Eve." The article noted that crystal balls aren't the only things used to mark the New Year--in many places across the United States, cities drop objects that reflect local flavor and culture," such as watermelons.
This year the entertainment tent will be near the "splatform" where 18 local watermelons will fall at midnight, accompanied by music and a spectacular fireworks display. Illiana Watermelon Queen Katie Ellerman will welcome the audience and reign over the Watermelon Drop.
"Where else but Vincennes can you watch a 500-pound watermelon rise high in the sky as midnight approaches, culminating in Knox County watermelons dropping on our "splatform"--including fireworks? Add to that our rock band and Watermelon Queen and there really is no better way to ring in the New Year," said John Frenz, one of the founding members of the National Watermelon Drop Committee.
In 2015, the Watermelon Drop was one of only two U.S. festivals listed by the British publication, The Guardian, in its list of the world's "best small festivals," as recommended by its readers. Joining the Watermelon Drop were events from Germany, Ireland, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Vietnam. The article, which featured a photo of Vincennes' giant watermelon.
The editors of the world's largest travel site, TripAdvisor, Inc., listed the event among in its 2011 "Top Ten Quirkiest New Year's Eve Celebrations in America"--a list that also included North Carolina's Possum Drop and Alabama's Moon Pie Drop.
Since its creation in 2008, the 18-foot watermelon has become a star attraction in Vincennes, including a popular entry in the town's parades. People enjoy sharing photographs and videos of themselves standing next to the 18-foot-long watermelon too.
The Watermelon Festival has come a long way since a few friends gathered at a small Vincennes New Year's party and asked themselves the question, "Why don't we drop something in town to celebrate the New Year?"
"It is incredible that this year, thanks to the generosity of many sponsors and donors, as well as our all-volunteer organization, we will again bring together this celebration that reflects the creativity and can-do spirit of the community that we love," Frenz said.
The event even inspired a parody by the Poet Laureate of Vincennes, which sums up the anticipation of Vincennes residents.
"'Twas the night before New Year's, when all through the town, all the people were stirring and riverfront bound. The watermelons were shined and stacked with care, in hopes to be selected for a launch through the air. The revelers in Vincennes were all snug and well fed, while visions of smashing watermelons danced in their head."
Why is the watermelon drop in Vincennes?
According to the Illiana Watermelon Association, one of the sponsors of the Watermelon Drop, the credit for the wide popularity of Knox County's great-tasting watermelons is ideal soil deposited by the great glaciers of the Ice Age. There are more than 7,000 acres of watermelon farms in or around Knox County. As the county seat of Knox County, Vincennes is proud to feature locally grown watermelons for its New Year's Eve celebration.
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