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Thousands brave extreme heat at Carytown Watermelon Festival

Posted at 6:23 PM, Aug 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-14 19:09:05-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Organizers of the 33rd annual Carytown Watermelon Festival took some extra precautions to make sure everyone stays safe in Sunday’s intense heat.

"We always have proper EMS throughout Carytown and there's a little more presence this year just to take care of that. And remember... many of the merchants are open so you can go in and get AC,” said Camille Bird, the president of Carytown Merchants  Association.

Johnni Weingart brought her family to the festival, but with a baby and the heat, they're doing everything to stay cool.

"My son and his wife and my granddaughter and here from Brooklyn and we wanted to come to the watermelon festival,” she said."We're going to stay hydrated. It'll be great."

Watermelon

Watermelon

Thousands of people came out to enjoy the best of Carytown despite the heat index peaking close to 110 degrees.

"It's hot and it's warm but we're together and we're having a great time,” said Bird.

The Carytown Merchants  Association puts on the festival. Organizers said they were prepared for the high temperatures.

"We've got Kona ice, Gelati Celesti and tons of ice cream,” said Bird.

They also have lemonade, popsicles and watermelon. In total, they cut up about 3,000 watermelons.

 Andrew Russek

Andrew Russek

"Drinking Gatorade and eating, having some watermelon,” said Khamis Dababish, who was staying trying to stay cool at the festival.

"So far, we've had a good time and it's been worth it,” said Lanita Booker.

Claudia Rupcich

Claudia Rupcich

"Summer's about to end. I'm about to start law school so I'm just hanging out with my buddies before everything kicks in, Despite the heat,” said Andrew Russek.

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