Skip to main content
Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Ooltewah festival celebrates melons of all sizes and shapes

The kiwani melon may look evil — and its thorns should be clipped off before you start working with it — but its flesh is like green Jell-O with a tropical taste and sour bite.
The kiwani melon may look evil — and its thorns should be clipped off before you start working with it — but its flesh is like green Jell-O with a tropical taste and sour bite. The kiwani melon may look evil — and its thorns should be clipped off before you start working with it — but its flesh is like green Jell-O with a tropical taste and sour bite.

By Lynda Edwards 6 min read

If you go

› What: Melon Fest› Where: Ooltewah Farmers Market, located at the Ooltewah Nursery & Landscape Co., 5829 Main St., Collegedale› When: 3-6 p.m. Thursday.› Admission: Free› Information: 423- 238-9775 or http://ooltewahnursery.com/events/melon-fest/

photo The kiwani melon may look evil — and its thorns should be clipped off before you start working with it — but its flesh is like green Jell-O with a tropical taste and sour bite.

The kiwani looks like Satan’s own breakfast – scarlet and orange covered with spikes armored with thorns.

“It looks quite menacing,” chuckles Ooltewah Farmers Market Marketing Director Angel Miller. “I’ll cut the thorns off the spikes before customers touch the kiwanis.”

But inside, the African horned melon is a surprise.