\Not many people know this, but I used to be a competitive eater. I wasn’t one of those 50-hot-dogs-in-10-minutes “professional” eaters you see on TV on July 4th. I was more of a local-contest-here-and-there kind of guy. Now that I’m a father, I’m semiretired from the sport, but I’ll be coming out of retirement later this year to do something I’ve always wanted to do: a watermelon eating contest.
The event will take place at Kipona, an end-of-summer arts festival held right here in my neck of the woods (Harrisburg, PA) on September 2. The contest is being hosted by an organization called Fruitopian Artistry. The following day, the fruit artists of Fruitopian Artistry will attempt to set a world record for the tallest fruit sculpture. Here’s how they describe it on their website:
“During the first week of September 2012, we will begin the process of constructing the 40-foot-tall watermelon “tower.” This melon monstrosity will consist of over 65 individually hand carved watermelons and well over 1,200 green apples, all stretching toward the sky!! Of course in true Fruitopian Artistry fashion, there will be a mild fireworks display upon completion of the tower.”
A 40-foot-tall watermelon tower with fireworks? I’m more excited about that than I am about the watermelon eating contest! Either way, I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures of both events and write about them here on the blog in September. Stay tuned!