Which Michigan Town Is Obsessed With Melon Ice Cream?

And WHY?!

I assumed the festival was in honor of melon harvesting season....or something along those lines. It's actually so much more! It turns out there's a lot more to Howell and melons than I thought.

Get our free mobile app

I was recently catching up with a friend of mine who grew up in the Howell area. We were talking about upcoming summer plans when she mentioned the Howell Melon Festival.

Having grown up in southwest Michigan, I'm not too familiar with the Howell area and I've definitely never heard of the Melon Festival. Have you?

Famous Howell Melons

Now, you may be wondering which type of melons we're talking her: All melons? Watermelons? Honey dew? Cantaloupe? It turns out there is a certain type of cantaloupe that is specific to the area: the Howell melon.

The legend in Howell says a "hobo" passing through town gave a greenhouse owner a mysterious handful of seeds which produced the 'perfect melon'. Thus the creating the iconic Howell melon. One site describes the unique melon as,

a muskmelon variety of cantaloupe known for its giant size and sweet, juicy flesh.

Melon Ice Cream?

One of the highlights of the annual festival is the highly sought-after melon ice cream. Invented by George Spagnuolo, this special ice cream recipe is only made once a year and has a long-standing history as part of the festival.

Former Howell Area Chamber of Commerce president describes the ice cream as being so delicious that people will drive hours for it. Often festival goers will tell her, "Yeah, we'll go see the other stuff but we came for the ice cream."

Sounds like I need to get my hands on this stuff! This year the 64th annual Howell Melon Festival is taking place August 16-18, 2024, learn more here.