There's nothing better than a watermelon!

A couple of years ago, Landmark Park started hosting a Watermelon Tasting program at the end of July. Visitors were able to sample several varieties of watermelons grown at Landmark Park.

This popular program will return on July 27 at 10 a.m. on the Wiregrass Farmstead. Master Gardener Tom Boyle has been working all season in the garden, growing the heirloom varieties of Moon and Stars, Jubilee, Charleston Gray, Crimson Sweet and Black Diamond. The Alabama Watermelon Association will also attend the tasting, so people will have a chance to meet one of the state's Watermelon Queens. Recipe cards, activity sheets and other goodies will be available at the tasting, courtesy of the Alabama Watermelon Association (www.alwatermelon.org).  This program is FREE with your paid gate admission.

A few fun facts about Watermelons (taken from the Alabama Watermelon Association's website):

• The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
• Watermelon is 92% water.
• Watermelon's official name is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. It is cousins to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
• By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the U.S., followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
• Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.
• The first cookbook published in the U.S. in 1776 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.
• Updated! According to Guinness World Records, the world's heaviest watermelon was grown by Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 2005, weighing in at 268.8 lbs (121.93 kg). Lloyd grew and weighed in for the Annual Hope, Arkansas Big Watermelon Contest on September 3, 2005.

ICE CREAM!

Hello everyone! We hope you are all having a wonderful spring. As I sat down to work on publicity for our Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social, which will be held on June 8 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m., I came across a treasure trove of information about everyone's favorite summertime treat. Visit Landmark Park on June 8 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. for a celebration of National Dairy Month, featuring FREE ice cream, butter churning, homemade ice cream, music, a cakewalk and more. $5 for adults, $3 for kids and free for park members. 

And now, fun fact about ice cream, taken from the International Dairy Foods Association!

• No one knows for sure who  invented ice cream. Ice cream is thought to have originated as far back as the second century BC. Alexander the Great was known to enjoy snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar, and biblical references report that King Solomon enjoyed similar treats. During the Roman Empire, Nero also reportedly sent runners into the mountains for snow, which was flavored with fruit. 

• When Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East, he brought with him a recipe that closely resembles what we today know as sherbert. England and France developed similar recipes. Ice cream was originally only enjoyed by the elite. In 1660 ice cream was made available to the general public. 

• The first advertisement for ice cream in the United States appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777. 

• President George Washington is believed to have spent $200 on ice cream during the summer of 1790. 

• Once insulated ice houses were invented, ice cream became more readily available to the general public. 

• Jacob Fussell, a Baltimore milk dealer, pioneered manufacturing ice cream in 1851. 

• The first official ice cream cone appeared in New York 1896, created by Italo Marchiony, an Italian immigrant. A similar creation was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair by Ernest A. Hamwi from Syria. A nearby ice cream vendor ran out of dishes, so Hamwi made a pastry called a zalabis in the shape of a cone for the vendor to use. 

• In 1924, cone production reached a record 245 million. Thanks to new technology, machines today can produce 150,000 cones every 24 hours. 

• In 1874 the ice cream soda was invented. Soda Jerks were often criticized for producing "sinfully" rich ice cream sodas on Sundays, so they left out the carbonated water and invented the Ice Cream Sundae.

• Dairy rationing took place during World War II. When rationing was lifted, Americans consumed over 20 quarts of ice cream per person in 1946. 
• Nine percent of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream. 

• In 2010, the ice cream industry generated revenues of $10 billion. The largest section of the market is take home sales, generating $6.8 billion or 67.7 percent of the market's value. More than 1.6 billion gallons are produced each year in the United States. 

We hope you will come to the park on June 8 and enjoy some ice cream with us!! Visit www.landmarkpark.com for details or call 334-794-3452