official site for the city of cordele, ga
"Fresh From The Vine Since 1949"
June, 2022 will mark Cordele's 73rd year celebrating the bountiful summer harvest with the "Watermelon Days Festival". A month full of good, clean, watermelon FUN! Visitors come from near and far to enjoy events such as the 4H Dog Show, Seed Spitting Contest, Watermelon Horseshoe Tournament, Fishing Rodeo, Watermelon Decorating Contest, "Wedding Game", Watermelon Chunking Contest, Gospel Singing and much, much more.
If you happen to be one of those visitors, be sure to take a ride on the SAM shortline excursion train where the vintage 1949 air conditioned cars take you back in time to the very first year Cordele hosted the Watermelon Days Festival. Depending on which day you choose to take the 45 mile trip from Cordele to Archer, stops may include the Georgia Veteran's State Park at Lake Blackshear, Leslie, Americus and/or Plains, home of President Jimmy Carter.
For a detailed schedule of all of the events of this year's Festival, including the grand finale celebration of July 3rd fireworks on the beautiful Flint River, click on the link above. See you there!