We have a City Council representative in Sunland - Tujunga who really cares about the communities she represents.  Councilwoman Wendy Greuel has made all the resources of her office available to the Festival, including the participation of Field Deputy Angela Motta, who has served on the planning team and made sure that everything that involved a city office went smoothly.  For her consistent support through the years, the S-T Lions Club conferred an Honorary Membership on "Lion" Wendy in 2006, and we are very pleased that our own Honorary Lion will be the person who crowns the Queen and Princesses of Festival '08.  Thank you!

There is just something about spitting a watermelon seed over 68 feet that caught Lion Ara Zeithlian's imagination! If someone in Luling, Texas, can do it, so can someone in Sunland, California!

He decided to make it possible and took charge of the seed spitting contest at our Watermelon Festival, traveling to Luling to see how they do it, researching the kind of watermelon seeds they use and how they set up their spitway, planning the details and putting up the money through his company for prizes big enough to make the contest really exciting!

He has been enthusiastic about the whole Festival and especially the watermelon booth ever since he joined the Lions Club, and has been responsible for finding the best melons and borrowing a refrigerated truck from a neighboring business since he took over chairmanship of the watermelon booth last summer.

In 2007 he created a Watermelon Spitway booth to make it possible for Festival goers to compete for the seed spitting championship throughout the Festival.  How far can you spit a watermelon seed?

Andrew Broberg, owner of Bro*Pack, has very generously loaned us a refrigerated truck and its driver for the past three years so that the watermelon can be served deliciously cold and crisp. The Lions are very grateful to him, and we know everyone who enjoys the watermelon appreciates his gift to the Festival. We show our appreciation to him by donating $500 each year to his favorite charity, Boys Republic in Covina Hills.  Andrew, thank you so much for your help in helping the Lions serve others!

The past two years the Watermelon Eating Contest sponsored by the Chamber was so much fun they decided to sponsor it again, bigger and better than ever. We hope you participated, or were part of the cheering section. It's amazing how fast a big slice of watermelon can disappear!  President Phil Tabbi's enthusiastic leadership will make it happen, and MC Vic Castro is the one who keeps the excitement level very high!  We are very grateful for the Chamber's participation and for all the support they give the Lions Club and the Festival throughout the year. Their designation of August as Watermelon Month in Sunland-Tujunga is really appreciated.

A  1967 VW painted to look like a watermelon led the Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club unit in the S-T Fourth of July Parade and was parked next to the Watermelon Booth at the Fireworks Celebration.  Many many thanks go to Tamar Zeithlian for the design, and to Mike Thomas of Design Setters Corp. for the artistic fabrication that turned a car into a melon!  (The photo is of the Melonmobile '06.  Mike created a pink melonmobile for 2007 - no photo is available at this time.)

For 46 years Kemsley Shows have provided the carnival rides and game booths at the Lions Club Watermelon Festival. It has been 46 years of growth, collaboration and friendship.

The Kemsley family not only provides an excellent carnival experience. Honorary Lion Gary Kemsley spends many hours with the Festival Director and the Festival Committee providing valuable knowledge and experience, helping the committee plan and produce a Festival that is fun and interesting with attractions for all of the family to enjoy.

The Sunland-Tujunga Lions are extremely grateful to Gary, and want to thank him and his aunt Marian, who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes. Our thanks also go to all of the crew whose work makes each day of the Festival a special day.

For a vast amount of information about watermelons, there is no site like watermelon.org! It has been a wonderful research tool for our Director and Webmistress. It not only contains a lot of information on the site itself, but its links lead you all over the country. One page lists 40 different festivals taking place around the country during the summer months! And that isn't even all the watermelon festivals there are!

One of the most interesting festivals seemed to be the 53rd annual Watermelon Thump in Luling, Texas. Its website has provided ideas, inspiration and guidance to our planners for 3 years, and there have been many e-mails crossing the country. In the summer of 2006 three members of the Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club flew to Austin, Texas, and drove down to Luling,
an agricultural community of a little over 5,000 people. They visited with members of their board of directors, checked out the entertainment, the vendors, and the food booths, enjoyed the parade, and took notes and photos at the seed spitting and watermelon eating contests. They issued invitations to some of the vendors and some of the directors to come be part of our Festival, but distance got in the way! It was an interesting and educational experience, and a blessing to be able to visit and learn from others.