The Colorado River Collaborative recently sent two journalists from the Deseret News — reporter Amy Joi O'Donoghue and photographer Brice Tucker — to the town of Green River, Utah, to chronicle Melon Days, which has been held since 1906 on the third weekend of September.
The river is the main tributary to the Colorado River, and we wanted to understand the importance of the river to its eponymous town. As the Deseret News story notes: Seven basin states, two countries and 30 tribes depend on the Colorado River. And for the Colorado River to be healthy, the Green River has to do its part.
Read how the river helps sustain the southeastern Utah town here.
And how melons are a way of life in Green River here.
Photos by Brice Tucker. Text from Amy Joi O'Donoghue's stories:
From right to left, Matt Beatty, Noah Myers, Vanessa Adams, Bella Beatty and Amy Beatty take a selfie eating watermelon during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The Beattys have been coming to Green River’s Melon Days Festival with family and friends for over a decade. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
“The river is like a great artery that runs through our town, and it helps feed so many parts of our residents’ lives and our economy. The river is a massive provider of tourism draw, and tourism makes up the majority of our economy currently.
“The river provides water, and in an ever-increasing tightening of the watershed, it’s such a great boon to our city for future economic growth that we have access to the water. The river is a vital part of why melons can thrive here, and the river provides critical opportunities for recreation, economic growth, and cultural identity to the town.”
— Green River Mayor Ren Hatt
Jose Perez Lopez throws a watermelon to Benjamin Minquiz Polito while they harvest watermelons from the Vetere fields in Green River on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Watermelons are too fragile to be harvested mechanically leading to more labor intensive methods where each melon must be tested for ripeness, cut from the vine and removed from the field. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
McCoy Nelson, 11, center and Ollie Meadows, 9, right, both from Green River, throw candy from the hood of a truck during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival parade in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Nelson and Meadows are both part of a past melon growing family, the Nelsons, that grew melons in Green River from 1945-1995. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Watermelons in a field on the Dunham’s farm in Green River on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Nicole Arnold, from Salt Lake City, talks with her niece Harper Arnold, 5, from Cedar City, while Harper waits decked out in watermelon apparel for candy from the parade during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
“I’ve been doing this since I was old enough to walk. A dollar is not worth anything unless you can put a smile on someone’s face. We must be doing something right if people keep coming back.”
— Greg Vetere, melon grower.
Castle Rock Marching Band plays during the parade at the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
A watermelon carved to look like a grill is presented during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Brian Merrill, from Mesquite Nevada, picks out melons on one of his twice monthly stops at the Vetere melon stand in Green River on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. Merrill is a traveling sales representative who goes out of his way on his work trips to stop at the Vetere melon stand between the months of July and October. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
The Utah Tech University Fusion performing team dances during the parade at the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
“It’s a family tradition to work as a family, and you’re doing everything by hand, with the heat and no shade. It’s not easy, but it’s fun.”
— Jill Vetere, melon farmer
Molly Gurney, left, Eliza Van Wetter, center and Alex Veilleux, right, all from Moab, enjoy watermelon during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Kenny Fallon Jr. wears a watermelon hat while filming the the 118th annual Melon Days Festival parade in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
A arid mesa is reflected in the Green River, while green fields watered by the same river grow around the base of the mesa in Green River on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. The Green River is vital for the melon growers and other farmers in Green River. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Cassidy Rubin, 3, from Moab, takes a bite of watermelon during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
From left to right, Chris Moyes sits with his children Desi, 8, Lylah, 8 and Levi, 4, while they enjoy snow cones during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Math teacher Rob Christensen from Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning fishes with his students, Henry, 12, on the left and Lincoln, 13, on the right, on a dock in Green River State Park, a day before the 118th annual Melon Days Festival starts, in Green River on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Chris Marshman, from Bullhead City, Arizona, carries a laundry basket full of recently purchased watermelons away from the Dunham’s melon stand during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Marshman and his wife came prepared with a laundry basket for their melon purchase. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Hoedown caller Paul Welcker teaches people western dances during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
