DIXON – This year the sweet smells of melons will no longer line the streets of Dixon for the annual Dixon Melon Day celebration.

The event, in what would have been its 23rd year, has been canceled due to lack of volunteers.

Originally scheduled for Aug. 23, word came in about a week ago that the day long celebration was no more.

“We had nobody to organize it and it takes a lot of time and effort,” Joey Hettick of Dixon Melons said.

Hettick, and her husband Harley, have been growing melons in the area for 27 years. Most of those years their melons have been celebrated with the only large-scale event hosted in Dixon. Although the Hetticks do not take part in organizing the event, the duo always had trucks full of melons ready for purchase.

Last year’s Dixon Melon Day event was slower than normal, something Hettick credited to the demise of the event this year, along with the lack of able-bodied volunteers.

Typically planning for the event starts just before summer and many hours are poured into the schedule and prizes. Last year’s event featured a fireman’s breakfast, kids games, horseshoe competitions, a parade, rodeo and 3-on-3 basketball jamboree, among other events.

Hettick said Dixon’s aging population and the lack of young, energetic people is the main reason the event is being put on hold. Hopes are a committee will step up next year to continue the event.

Although Dixon Melon Day was never a huge financial surge for Dixon Melons, Hettick said she is disappointed that it will not be happening this year.

“I really do feel sad. I think all of us do,” Hettick said.

Hettick said the event was good PR for the company and it was a nice opportunity to visit with people, something Harley always loved to do.

“Even though it wasn’t our most financially (beneficial) event, it gave us a lot of PR and gave us a lot of opportunity to interact with people,” Hettick said. “We donated melons to the eating contest and to the seniors. Every time someone eats one of our melons, it is good PR for us. Any chance we have to share them with anybody is definitely the most important sales tool there is.”

Local people typically organize the event, something Hettick said did not need to be the case. If there is a lack of volunteers in the area, she said other vendors can step up to ensure the event would happen next year.

“It doesn’t necessarily all have to be people who are in the vicinity,” Hettick said. “It can be vendors from other areas that just want to have another place to have a booth and have an opportunity.”

Even with the cancellation of the event, Dixon Melons will be in other areas for sale as they always are. The melons will be available at farmer’s markets throughout the area.  Although the company does not have a continuous supply yet, Hettick said the melons are coming in beautifully.