Watermelon Update. If a crisis situation arises, call immediately. Points of Interest. PMA 2013 New Orleans, Louisiana

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1 A U G U S T the Watermelon Update If a crisis situation arises, call immediately Marine Corps Marathon (October 24-27) PMA Fresh Summit in NOLA is Almost Here! NWPB and NWA are excited to sponsor the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. for the first time ever! Watermelon samples, J. Slice, and watermelon queens will be making appearances at the Health Expo, Kids Fun Run, and the Finish Festival. We are also excited to have J. Slice compete in the mascot games and Run, Eat, Repeat blogger Monica be a marathon participant all in the name of watermelon. The Jump with Jill gang has also donated a free show to the winner of the Kids Fun Run. It s going to be a fun weekend! For more information on the marathon, visit: The annual Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit expo will be held October 19-20th in New Orleans, Louisiana. The NWPB booth, #1018, will once again feature watermelon mastermind Chef Joe Poon, National Watermelon Queen Amber Nolin, and feature new recipes to sample with help of Chiquita & Cal-Giant. The annual watermelon industry reception will be held at Bourbon Heat located near the infamous Cat s Meow lounge on Bourbon Street where you will surely turn the heat up on the dance floor and have a guaranteed good time. We are still in the planning phases so stay tuned for more information in the next update. If you need discount PMA show floor passes, please fill out the form and return to Juliemar Rosado either by fax at or jrosado@watermelon.org. Please note the discount pass price has increased to $195. The form can also be downloaded in the industry section of our website. Points of Interest PMA 2013 New Orleans, Louisiana Discount pass order form available! Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Fruit Loose! Watermelon Friends & Fans! Social media influencers are in love with watermelon!

2 Chef Poon, The National Watermelon Queen, & Watermelon Unite! With the help of the watermelon industry, the Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club makes a smooth transition into a larger venue at a historic location for their annual event. The 52nd annual Watermelon Festival sponsored by the Sunland/Tujunga Lions Club took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the first time ever August 16-18th. It is the longest running and largest non-profit festival in Southern California. Throughout the entire weekend, thousands of watermelon lovers feasted on free watermelon, listened to music, and indulged in watermelon eating and seed spitting contests. In addition, there was standing room only for watermelon carving demonstrations featuring celebrity Chef Joe Poon. Local area Chefs and student chefs from the local culinary institutes were also featured in additional carving and culinary demonstrations. Over 40,000 pounds of locally grown watermelon were provided by members of the Western Watermelon Association, including Van Groningen and Sons, C.H. Robinson, Perry & Sons, Dulcinea, and Pappas Family Farms. Comprehensive TV and radio coverage before and during the Festival featured interviews with both Chef Poon and the National Watermelon Association s reigning National Watermelon Queen Amber Nolin, from Enterprise, Alabama. American Idol host Ryan Seacrest also interviewed Amber for his broadcast On Air with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM radio. This year s success assures west coast watermelon lovers of an even bigger event next August. National Watermelon Display Contest Deadline Approaching There is still time to submit your July watermelon display for the contest! Entries must be received no later than September 6, Entries can be mailed to the NWPB offices or ed (preferred) to watermeloncontests@gmail.com. Good luck! Newsworthy Quotes from our Social Media Channels: Blog: Most of the kids I work with hate veggies. In the past, when I ve told them that watermelons are actually considered vegetables (also that corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers are considered fruit) it has changed their opinion about the vegetable world. They appear less eager to reject other veggies and try new ones. So thank you, Watermelon, my fregetable friend. Facebook: Thank you for the healthy inspiration. Decorated watermelon birthday cake - now there's a change! Twitter: If you cut it, they will eat it. #WatermelonRules 2

3 Watermelon Friends & Fans Abound! Social media influencers are in love with watermelon and are telling the story in their own words Watermelon has been a huge hit this summer, from being spotted on restaurant menus galore to being bragged about in the blogosphere, Twitterverse and social landscape constantly. NWPB has contracted with a selected group of bloggers to tell the watermelon story to their audiences along the lines of healthy recipes and carvings. This is not the same as online advertising; our key watermelon messages are just the foundation. Each influencer adapts the message to his or her own voice, and then personalizes, creates and adds to the message with unique recipe and carving ideas, essentially spreading the watermelon love to a loyal and listening audience. We recommend you poke around the social spaces of these bloggers to see how they adapted the watermelon message and grew a fan out of us: - Run, Eat, Repeat (hyperlink all of these) - Mother Would Know - Nutrition Expert - Savory Simple - Wholesome Mommy - Nutrition Twins - Family Spice Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 FRUIT LOOSE! Bob Morrissey with the National Watermelon Association (NWA) visited the NWPB offices in early July. He is pictured here with staff members of the NWPB, Mark Arney and Stephanie Barlow. One of the many agenda topics discussed with Bob during his visit included the NWPB s involvement in the promotion with Sony Picture's movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, scheduled for release in September. Pictured are two items featuring the watermelophant stuffed toy (held by Morrissey) and poster (held by Arney). This is the sequel to the successful 2009 #1 animated hit with over $245 million in box office earnings. It was also the #1 movie on its opening weekend in 18 countries and has since sold 3.6 million DVDs. By partnering with Feeding America, the current movie s produce partners are helping to solve hunger by donating thousands of pounds of fresh produce to families and children in need. This is one of the largest cause-related marketing efforts in fresh produce tied to a major file release. Go to to enter your unique code found in specially marked packages for a chance to win great prizes and see how you can help in your community. 3

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5 THE National Watermelon Promotion Board 3361 Rouse Road, Suite 150 Orlando, FL Want to receive the update via ? us at