It was the perfect day for a perfectly juicy watermelon.
The 10 children at Allison-Henderson Park were covered in juice as they devoured slice after slice of the cool fruit on a warm Tuesday afternoon.
"My belly is full now," said Kennedy Highland, 4, as she finished the last bite on her second watermelon slice.
The special treat was the focus of a class, offered by the Dubuque Leisure Services Department, that celebrates the flavorful summer fruit.
"Normally that is not a treat I would give them because it's kind of messy," said Ann Schober, the class instructor.
Too bad this year's celebration landed one day after National Watermelon Day.
Scheduling conflicts prevented the class from being held Monday, so the children celebrated everything watermelon a day late.
The celebration allowed the children, ages 4 to 6, to create windsocks with watermelon designs, ankle bracelets in watermelon colors and watermelon visors.
"Everybody pretty much likes watermelon," said Schober, who came up with the
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* Watermelon's official name is Citrullus lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. * Watermelon is 92 percent water. * By weight, watermelon is the most consumed melon in the United States. * Early explorers used watermelons as canteens. * In 1990, Bill Carson of Arrington, Tenn., grew the largest watermelon at 262 pounds. Source: www.watermelon.org how to pick a good watermelon 1. Look for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts and dents. 2. The watermelon should be heavy for its size. 3. The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun. Source: www.watermelon.org |
Love watermelon? Take a bite out of these tasty tidbits, courtesy of watermelon.org:
History
* The fruit that is more than 90 percent water is thought to have originated in the dry Kalahari Desert of Africa.
* The first recorded watermelon harvest is depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics created more than 5,000 years ago.
* Merchant ships allowed watermelons to spread throughout countries along the Mediterranean Sea, and by the 10th century the fruit was dominant in China.
* China is now the world's largest producer of watermelons, while the U.S. is the fourth largest producer.
How they grow
* Watermelons typically are grown in rows of raised beds that are composed of fertilized sand or sandy loam.
* Honeybees must pollinate the yellow watermelon blossom for every watermelon, even the seedless ones, to grow to fruit.
* In a month a vine grows, and in two months the vine has its first watermelon. The crop is harvested at three months.
Types
* Although there are 200 to 300 varieties of watermelons grown, only about 50 of those varieties are very popular.
* The most popular U.S. watermelon is the seedless watermelon that can weigh from 10 to 20 pounds.
* More than 1,200 varieties of watermelons are grown worldwide in 96 countries.
National Watermelon Day - A class at Dubuque Leisure Services celebrates National Watermelon Day, a very sweet holiday even when it's a day late.
