Rush Springs Watermelon Queen Shaping Her Legacy

Lillyan Ball’s dream came true this year. In 2011, when she was 5 years old, she was crowned Little Miss Rush Springs.

“That day is the day my dream started. I remember looking up at the queen that was elected and dreaming of me being able to wear that crown,” she said.

She hoped that someday she would have a chance to wear the Watermelon Queen tiara. She’s doing just that as she visits businesses, radio stations and newspapers to promote the upcoming Rush Springs Watermelon Festival, set for Aug. 12. She was one of three contestants who vied for this year’s title.

Ten years ago, in 2013, her cousin, Brittany Ball was the Watermelon Queen.

Since earning the title, Ball has been busy. In between sports and practices, her duties have taken her to Pauls Valley for the noodling festival, Chickasha, and she will visit Stratford for the Peach Festival, Wichita Falls, TX for interviews at two radio stations, and to the Blackberry Festival in McCloud.

She rode in Marlow’s Independence Day Parade on Tuesday. She said the Oklahoma State Capitol is also on her itinerary. She visited The Review office a week ago Tuesday.

She was holding a piece of notebook paper on which she had written the entire day’s activities for the upcoming festival.

While every aspect of the festival is great, she said there is one that she is most looking forward to. “Tiny Tots is so wonderful. You have all these little bitty kids trying to sing their songs and answer the questions.”

Ball, who served as FFA president for her school and plays sports, thought she was busy before being elected to this new role, but now she’s constantly on the go. Dressed in a comfortable “off the farm” outfit - denim shorts upscaled with cute watermelon print ruffles along the cutoff edges, wearing her queen sash and tiara, it was obvious she was having fun and representing her title and community.

“Meeting new people and hearing their stories, oh we’ve gone to the Watermelon Festival for years, and representing our town and I know the soul and heart of our town and what it means to me and getting to spread that across the state, means so much to me.”

Creating a legacy is important to her. She said the legacy of her community is based off of hard-working farmers and the family-like community that sticks together and of course, watermelons.

“To me, your legacy is the way people remember you. It’s how you live your life when no one is watching. When you are gone people aren’t going to remember you for what you wore or bought, but for how you treated others. I am not here because of myself, I am here because of the people who have paved the way before me. I hope to leave an impacting legacy as watermelon queen and I want to make sure my journey is worth watching.”

She has gained confidence from this experience.

“Doing stuff like this (news interviews) has brought me out of my comfort zone.” Del Ford, a family friend said, “She’s very humble. That’s what makes her so special.”

“People come from all over to witness our one-of-a-kind watermelon festival,” Ball said. “Our little town gets transformed from 1,000 people to 30,000 people in just a short 24 hours. All the way back from 1940, our town has set the standard. We have built strong, unbreakable traditions that will last forever. Our traditions and the long-lasting legacies of this town definitely shape us into who we become. How our festival has impacted me and has changed my life. I know it is doing the same for others,” she said.

She is the daughter of Daniel and Lindsey Ball, and has a younger sister, Harper, 9.