HOPE – Continuing the legacy of one of the Watermelon Festival’s most treasured events, the Seed Spitting Competition was held at 2:00 pm on the Hope Public Schools stage on Saturday. Contestants use all of their seed spitting training to shoot their shot for the win. The seed spitting competition is one of the original Watermelon Festival events, being a highlight of the weekend since 1977. In that year, Wayne Johnson of Hope defeated Mrs. Haskell Jones for the first title. During the contest, the competitors were given three seeds to attempt to spit the farthest across the stage, winning the event.