Sponsored by the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, festivities begin at 9 a.m. with the Watermelon Festival Parade, with Grand Marshall Mark Berman, Sports Director at FOX 26 Houston. Family-oriented activities include the seed-spitting contests, watermelon eating contests, a carnival, a barbecue cook-off, a car show, a quilt show and entertainment. The 2012 Watermelon Queen and court will take the stage at 11 a.m..