Throw ‘em. Squish ‘em. Squeeze ‘em. Compete ‘em. Eat ‘em. Above all, delight in ‘em.

Summer is a time for carnival rides, festivals, fairs, summer fun, summer love, and…tomatoes?

Yes! Tomatoes!

On Sunday, August 18, the 5th annual Tomato Tasting Festival will take place at the High Gate Carriage House (830 Walnut Avenue, beside Ross Funeral Home) from noon – 4 p.m. There is no admission fee, and entering the competition is free as well. Just be sure to bring your tomatoes to the Carriage House between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday or by 10 a.m. Sunday.

Tomatoes, competition, taste testing: all here in Marion County and sponsored by Marion County Master Gardeners and WVU Extension Service.

With more than 60 types of tomatoes in nine competitions, these tomato people are serious about their fruit.

Tomato Varieties (all to sample):

·Heirloom

·Hybrid

·The other 58!

Categories:

·Tom Thumb- Small

·Standard- Medium

·MONSTER TOMATOES- Large

Competitions in each category:

·The BIGGEST

·The Best Tasting

·People’s Choice

Don’t forget about the mother of all MONSTER TOMATOES! From 8 a.m. – 10 a.m., entries will be accepted for Largest Tomato Ever (in Marion County this year)!

Just remember, it’s about more than tomatoes; it’s about competition, which is about winning… and sportsmanship. We might even see challengers from our neighboring counties! Do you think you can beat Ed Cheslock’s 2 POUND, 9 OUNCE tomato of 2011? Get ready to try!

Not crazy about competition? Come out to enjoy the Farmers Market. See great art from your local artisans. Shop at the various vendors, then rock your socks off with live entertainment including:

• Holly Turkovich

• Bumpy Michael Stewart

• Rus Reppart

• Phil Wiseman

Explore the grounds and have some lunch (only $6) featuring, what else – tomatoes! Check out the culinary demonstrations, honeybees, basket weaving, gardening and food clinics, a butterfly tent, and so much more!  Before, all this extra awesomeness was merely a festival; but it now accurately fits the definition of a hoopla!

The festival takes place in various parts of the High Gate Carriage House grounds, built more than 100 years ago. Give your eyes a new sight— a very old one!

Take a day, take a stroll, take a tomato. See for yourself if the secret really is in the soil.  Those gardens grow more than just tomatoes, they grow winners.

Do you consider tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable?