Contestants dig into quarter-watermelons during the ages 5 to 10 eating competition at Bishop’s inaugural Watermelon Festival in Wheatland on Saturday, Aug. 29.

WHEATLAND, CA (MPG) - Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm opened its gates early this year to accommodate its first-ever Watermelon Festival, giving visitors a taste of summer before the farm’s traditional fall season gets underway.

By Saturday afternoon, Aug. 29, the grounds were filling fast, with wait times reaching about 45 minutes for popular festival treats like watermelon floats and watermelon bread. The watermelon-eating contests saw dozens of children and adults competing, going face-first into Bishop’s inaugural watermelon crop.

“I actually missed my competition slot, but I still wanted to compete against myself,” said Brendan Stuessy, his face still dripping with watermelon.

Brendan Stuessy laughs between bites while attempting to finish a quarter-watermelon against a one-minute timer after missing his scheduled competition slot at Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Just like the official competitors, Stuessy raced against a one-minute timer to down a full quarter of a melon. His friends helped document and celebrate his own “win.” For the Bishop family, however, the weekend represented more than a new festival. It was the culmination of an idea years in the making.

“My family’s dream of growing watermelons has been in the works for a while now, easily five or six years,” said Austin Bishop, known around the farm as “The Farmer.”

Bishop said the family experimented with small test crops of melons over the years, but the timing never seemed right to make them a larger part of the operation. That began to change as the farm looked for ways to extend its season and respond to visitors who wanted more opportunities to spend time at Bishop’s.

A crowd gathers to watch the children’s watermelon-eating contest during Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm’s first Watermelon Festival in Wheatland on Saturday, Aug. 29.

“We always try to listen to our guests and give them more of what they want and less of what they don’t like,” Bishop said. ““That is what we’re all about: getting people outside on the farm and experiencing California agriculture.”

Extending the traditional pumpkin season itself presented challenges. Bishop said keeping pumpkins healthy for a nine- to 10-week season can be difficult, leading the family to look instead for a crop better suited to the heat of late summer. Watermelons provided the answer — and created an opportunity to open the farm several weeks earlier than usual.

The community’s response to the experiment has Bishop optimistic that watermelon could become a regular part of the farm’s calendar.

“With the positive response from our community, it is definitely something we hope to continue doing at our farm,” Bishop said. “We really didn’t know how guests would respond to it, but the concept has been met with a lot of excitement and support.”

Young competitors ages 5 to 10 line up with quarter-watermelons before the start of a watermelon-eating contest at Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Future watermelon seasons will still depend heavily on Mother Nature.

“We recognize a watermelon season is very dependent on weather,” Bishop said, noting the farm was fortunate to have temperatures around 90 degrees for its August opening weekend.

Even in years when weather might not cooperate for a full festival, Bishop said the family could still grow and sell melons as produce.

“We never want to take on too much in one calendar year or not do something with 100% effort or to the best of our ability,” he said. “We take a very thoughtful and intentional approach to new endeavors we take on.”

If the crowds — and watermelon-covered faces — from the farm’s inaugural festival are any indication, the newest Bishop’s crop may have found a place alongside its pumpkins.

Those that missed last weekend’s festivities will have another chance to catch the fun this weekend, Sept. 4-6. For more information visit http://bishopspumpkinfarm.com.