Dive into history at Rehoboth Beach Museum watermelon fest Aug. 13

The Rehoboth Beach Museum will hold its Third Annual Watermelon Festival from 3 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, in The Grove Park and at the museum. Admission is $3 for ages 13 and older, $2 for children ages 5 to 12. Children 4 and younger are free. Admission to the festival also includes admission to the Rehoboth Beach Museum to see the current surfing exhibit, "Skimming the Surface." Parking is available on nearby streets.

There will be music from 3 to 4 p.m.; watermelon-eating contests from 4 to 5 p.m. by age: 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, and 14 and older; and watermelon seed-spitting contests from 5 to 6 p.m. for the same age groups.

Two new events, hula hoop and paddle ball, are being added this year. Children can also do watermelon crafts, face painting and a bean bag toss game as they have in past years. Guessing games like guess the number of jelly beans in a jar, guess the weight of watermelons and guess the number of taffy pieces in a jar will also be part of the festivities. All visitors will receive a raffle ticket for a Bucket of Fun with great family prizes.

The Rehoboth Beach Museum is housed in the historic ice house near the canal. The first wooden ice house was built at that location by John. A. Lingo in 1912. Back then, ice was harvested from Silver Lake. In 1927, the building was wired for electricity, and ice manufacturing began.

For some time, before household refrigerators were common, people would store their watermelons at the ice house for 25 cents, carving their initials in the melon for identification. The Rehoboth Beach Historical Society celebrates this tradition with the Annual Watermelon Festival.

Call 302-227-7310 for information about the event. The museum is at 511 Rehoboth Ave., near the lighthouse traffic circle and the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center.