The Long Way
Emery County
People gather around a long table covered in sliced watermelon outdoors.
Plate I. Watermelon table at Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A person in a cow costume walks in front of a cow-spotted car during an outdoor event.
Plate II. Parade entry, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A person in an inflatable cow costume walks in front of a decorated car.
Plate III. Parade entry at Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A parade float with people and cow costumes on a trailer on a street.
Plate IV. Parade float, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A tractor pulls a large float shaped like a watermelon slice on a street.
Plate V. Watermelon parade float, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A large wooden float painted to look like a watermelon slice on a trailer.
Plate VI. Watermelon float, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A man and woman pose smiling at a market stall filled with watermelon-themed items.
Plate VII. Vendor booth, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A decorated old truck in a parade on a street.
Plate VIII. Parade float, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A line of cheerleaders marching in a street parade.
Plate IX. Parade cheerleaders, Melon Days. From melon-days.com
A black and white photograph showing a large watermelon slice float parked on a street.
Plate X. Melon Days. From melon-days.com

Melon Days

Green River, Emery County, Utah. Festival; September 18th & 19th, 2026.

Details

Map. Green River, Emery County, Utah. Larger map
Where
100 Solomon St., Green River, UT 84525. Directions
When
third weekend in September.
Getting there
The parade lineup will begin at the City Maintenance Building (545 West Main) across from NAPA, and will end at the Book Cliff Lodge (735 East Main).
Fees
FREE Melon samples.
Hours
FRIDAY | 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM SATURDAY | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM O.K. Anderson Park.
Access
Festival at O.K. Anderson Park.
Phone
435-820-0592
Website
melon-days.com
Managed by
City of Green River, Utah.
Established
Celebrating 120 years of tradition.

Celebrating 120 years of tradition, Green River's Melon Days Festival honors our world-famous melons and the hardworking families who grow them.

Notable Events

  1. 1906As the celebration of the melon harvest continued, Green River decided to officially name the festival in 1906. moabsunnews.com
  2. 1919Peaches were Green River's calling card until a deep freeze in 1919 killed most of the peach trees; the farmers who stayed turned their efforts towards growing cantaloupes. melon-days.com
  3. 1947The first Melon Queen in 1947. moabsunnews.com
  4. 1960The big float made its debut September 17, 1960, in the Melon Days parade, after the Moab Chamber of Commerce asked the Green River Chamber to enter a float in their parade. melon-days.com
  5. 1964The area also served as a missile test site; the theme of the 1964 Melon Days was From Melons to Missiles. hcn.org
  6. 2021Last year, Green River cancelled its 115-year-old traditional Melon Days Festival in favor of a small, locals-only event to mitigate COVID-19 concerns. moabsunnews.com

People

  • J.H. “Melon” Brown, began Green River's melon growing, experimenting with his first crop.
  • Jim Hurst, airplane pilot and airport manager whose idea became the melon slice float; worked on its construction.

Sources

  1. melon-days.com
  2. melon-days.com/events.html
  3. facebook.com/GreenRiverMelonDays
  4. melon-days.com/about-our-growers.html