Thousands of visitors once again descended upon Jeff Davis Park in the town of Rush Springs for the 64th annual watermelon festival this weekend.

One of the most popular events in the state, drawing 20,000 to 30,000 visitors each year, the festival has been an annual affair since 1940, with the exception of five years during World War II, when it was temporarily discontinued.

This year, there were a whopping 48,640 pounds of ripe watermelons on hand for a dollar a slice until 4 p.m. After that, the melons went for free until they were gone.

For every person who digs into a watermelon, there is a different eating style. Some eat daintily with a fork, while others are a little less delicate.

Take Trenton and Alyssa Gamble, children of Vera and Paris Gamble of Edmond for instance.

While Trenton, 14, a 10th grader at Santa Fe High School, prefers to use his fingers to scoop the juicy, pink fruit into his mouth, little sister Alyssa, 9, a fifth grader at Charles Haskell Elementary foregoes the use of fingers as well as utensils and dives in head first, watermelon juice dripping off her chin as she smiles broadly.

Alvin Ihrig of Wellston and Steve Brumley of Edmond, both clad in colorful Hawaiian shirts, are more sedate, preferring to dine with forks rather than their hands or faces, as do Joan Gunter and Larry Albright, both of Oklahoma City.

However, Maggie Evans, 1, daughter of Jay and Sherrie Evans of Chickasha, enjoys her first festival watermelon by grabbing a tiny fistful and sticking it into her mouth. Maggie has the right idea and is wearing a bib to catch the inevitable juices.

Along with the watermelon come the pesky seeds. So, to make the most of them, a watermelon seed spitting contest is held each year.

Deedra Rennaker, who keeps track of participants’ names and distances spit, has been doing so since she was a child.

“I’ve done the seed spittin’ thing since I was 10 or 12,” she said. “My Paw Paw always did it and after he passed away about four years ago, Jimmy Williams asked me to keep doing it, now he counts on me to be there.”

Although Rennaker attends the festival every year, she will soon be moving to Utah where her fiancé will be stationed as a military recruiter.

“I’ve never missed one, so I guess I’ll have to come home every year,” she said.

Winners this year include, in the grade school division, Franklin Grover, 12, of Rush Springs, who spit a seed 37 feet and 10 inches; in the high school division, Jeff Foust of Duncan who sailed his seed 55 feet and 10 inches; and, in the adult division, Julien Lima of Norman with a distance of 51 feet and six inches.

In the final sudden-death spit off, Lima walked away with the championship with a distance of 43 feet and four inches.