Fallon Cantaloupe Festival stems from hardy melon with roots in Churchill County

People from as far away as France traveled to Fallon — a town of a little more than 9,300 people east of Reno — this past weekend to attend the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and celebrate the Heart of Gold Cantaloupe, a particular breed of melon said to have its beginnings in Churchill County. About 200 volunteers worked from Friday to Sunday to accommodate the more than 15,000 visitors to the festival. Angela Guthrie, the treasurer for the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival Association, is in her second year volunteering for the association.