Editing Saline, Louisiana (section)

==Arts and culture==
The Saline Watermelon Festival is Louisiana's oldest watermelon festival. With cotton prices declining in the 1920s, local farmers searched for more profitable crops. They created the Saline Dairy & Truck Growers Association and diversified their yields, growing fruits and vegetables – most notably, watermelons. This led to Louisiana’s first watermelon festival, held in 1931, to celebrate the harvest. Customers included President Franklin Roosevelt and King George V of the United Kingdom.

The festivals, originally held on Fridays, drew huge crowds from distant places who would come in via the train or car. People came to play games, eat watermelon, gather with old friends, and enjoy their day mingling around. In 1933, the festival attracted approximately 10,000 people but with the onset of the depression, this was to be the last annual watermelon festival to be held in the town for 50 years.

In 1983, after many months of work by Carolyn Dison, Gertie Baker, Gertrude Enloe, Elizabeth Dushane, and Betty Wiggins, the festival was held once again and became an annual event. Now, held on the second Saturday in July, you will find an event-filled week. From beauty pageants to live music, an antique car show to an old-fashioned parade, arts & crafts vendors to your favorite food vendors, there is something for everyone. Then on Saturday night, the festival comes to an end with an old-fashioned street dance where you can dance the night away.

<ref>{{Cite web | title=Saline Watermelon Festival | url=http://salinewatermelonfestival.com/ | access-date=2025-01-24 | website=salinewatermelonfestival.com}}</ref>