Melon Festival in Chinchilla, Australia

Venture to the Western Downs Region of Queensland, Australia, to explore the wild landscape and unique local culture. Known as the Melon Capital of Australia, Chinchilla produces 25 percent of the country’s melon supply and celebrates the wealth of melons every other February during Melonfest.

Just less than 200 miles from Brisbane and 50 miles from Dalby, Chinchilla is the perfect escape during your trip to the Outback. Conveniently located along Warrego Highway, visitors can easily explore the beautiful region from Brisbane to the Darling Downs for the world’s largest melon festival.

Plan ahead for next year’s festival, Feb. 14–17, 2019, and prepare to get messy. The three-day weekend boasts a variety of entertainment for families and guests of all ages. Kids enjoy their own movie night, street parade and science demonstrations along with a slew of melon-centric entertainment and activities.

Dive into some watermelon slices of your own during the free feast or cheer on the melon chariot races while participants pull carts to the finish line over broken watermelons.

Older kids and adults strap on watermelon shoes and compete for the best time in melon skiing — picture a slip-and-slide track filled with chunks of watermelon while wearing watermelons as skis.

Melon bungee is great for the kids and team building as groups of four are tied together in a square by bungee straps and have to reach melons by pulling against each other. The main melon event is an Ironman circuit with competing men and women running, sliding and crawling their way to victory — all with melon in hand, of course.

If all the messy competition isn’t your family’s speed, head to a movie premiere, melon farm tour, museums and art exhibits or the melon market for some shopping. Between the photography competition and watermelon weigh in, there will be plenty of family-friendly and mess-free competitions to attend over the long weekend.

Big melon eaters or not, the family will not go hungry at Melonfest. Check out the festival feast kicking off the festivities on Friday night. Preview last year’s menu and check back as the festival gets closer for more up-to-date information on events and information.