HOPE – The Miss & Mister Hope Watermelon Pageant will take place August 4th at 6:00 pm at the Klipsch Auditorium in the City Hall building. Located in Hope, Ar. This is an informal, fun, pageant to promote the Hope Watermelon Festival. It is for children ages 0 months to 18 years of age, including both boys and girl’s divisions. Contestants will purchase a 2026 Watermelon Festival t-shirt from the Hope Chamber of Commerce, and build their outfit for competition around the t-shirt. T- shirts range from size 4T and up. Younger children may wear watermelon attire. There is no formal or sportswear attire- only the watermelon tee and accompanying attire. Applications are not limited to residents of Hempstead County.
Applications are available at Rae-Tay’s, Tickled Pink, The Little Things Boutique, and the Hope Chamber of Commerce. Online applications are available at the link on the Little Miss & Mister Watermelon Pageant event page on FB. Entries should be postmarked on or before July 22. No entries accepted after this date.
We will host the Hope Community Coffee on Wednesday, July 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for all 2026 contestants. Contestants are also invited to participate in the Watermelon Parade on Monday, August 3rd. Registration for the parade is made through the Hope Chamber of Commerce. Everyone is invited to come see this years’ contestants for the Hope Watermelon Pageant. Sponsored by Gigi Bradshaw.