I’m off to the EastMont Tomato Festival today.  We gardeners with tomatoes that were squashed by falling trees need to get our vicarious enjoyment of tomatoes wherever we can!

If you’ve never been, the Tomato Festival is small town fun at its finest.  As expected, there’s a bunch of tomato contests, included best-tasting, biggest, and funniest looking, plus lots of tomato recipes available.

And for fun, there’s the EastMont Tomato Pageant for Heirloom Tomato Royalty (heirloom referring to men and women over 40); Tomato Prince and Princess (for those age 4-39); and the Cherry Tomato Baby (up to 3 years old).  Less you think this is all frivolous (and it is), there IS a talent portion for the first two categories.

There’s also a Tomato Art Contest and a whole bunch of artists and vendors with booths, plus yummy Fried Green Tomatoes to munch on while you browse.

If you care to join me, the EastMont Tomato Festival is today, August 18, from 10 am to 4 pm at The Meadowbrook Center in Shawsville.   It benefits a good cause, too.  Proceeds go to the Karen Cronin Legacy Fund that supports gardening and beautification projects in eastern Montgomery County.

And, now, to get your appetite whetted for funny tomato pictures, here’s one sent in by Carol Lee, grown on the north face of the Blue ridge mountains in Upper Bonsack.  She calls it Bonsack Bob.