Ben and Karen (right) Bassham will have a busy August as this year’s Fallon Cantaloupe Festival king and queen. Their daughter Ella can’t wait for the annual festival to begin during the last month of August.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
With a month remaining before the kickoff to this year’s Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair, Ben and Karen Bassham are more than ready to represent the annual event as this year’s king and queen.
The festival is Aug. 27-29 with most of the events occurring at the Churchill County’s Fairgrounds Rafter R3C arena and adjacent venues. The first day also features Candlebox in concert. Chancy Williams appears on Saturday along with Jared Hovis.
The Basshams said Kim Klenakis nominated the couple to be king and queen
“I was flattered, very flattered, actually,” Karen (Isbister) Bassham said.
Ben Bassham said he’s also honored, but he’s not accustomed to being in the public eye.
The Fallon Cantaloupe Festival has been pleased with their enthusiasm in promoting the festival. Both Ben and Karen, who both grew up in Fallon, said they have loved the festival for many years and will attend the state’s oldest agricultural event with friends who travel to Fallon for the weekend.
Now, the Basshams have an added task: they will promote the festival to the rest of the area with television and radio appearances.
As a youngster, Karen said she enjoyed the different events and what each vendor was selling.
“Now I love the music and getting together (with friends and family),” she said.
For the past five years, the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival welcomes visitors on the last weekend of August. Previously, the festival began over the Labor Day weekend. The Basshams said this year’s festival will be exciting as a record number of vendors have signed up. Ben said he can’t wait for them to welcome the visitors and to the festival to showcase the vendors, agricultural-related activities and entertainment which will also include a carnival.
The popular summer-ending festival attracts thousands of visitors every year. The rich farm land of Churchill County originally inspired the festival and what the area offers. In its inception, the festival was known as the annual “Corn and Cantaloupe Festival” and is the longest running agricultural festival in Nevada.
The Churchill County Farm Bureau and Nevada Department of Agriculture take an active role with the yearly festival. Come milk Moolissa, the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s educational robotic milk cow. Visitors will learn more about the valley’s agriculture and how local farmers and ranchers operate on a daily basis. Both the 4-H and High Desert Grange members will have a variety of activities and educational displays.
The Truckee Carson Irrigation District’s big trailer with a display of the Newlands Water Project will also be at
the fairgrounds for visitors.
For information on tickets and the concerts, go to https://www.falloncantaloupefestival.com/tickets.
