Taste The Tomato Flavor

Tomato Fest July 24

Farmers’ Market also vying for national attention

(PHOTO: ANDY SHUPE) Nine-month-old Ava Padilla eats a piece of tomato during the 2010 Tomato Fest. The event will take place this year 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, July 24 at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in conjunction with the Fayetteville Farmers' Market. The tomato tasting is conducted by Ozark Slow Food.

Got a hankering for some juicy red fruit? An event during the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market’s hours at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks this Sunday, July 24 just might satisfy that desire.

Ozark Slow Food will present more than 60 varieties of the locally grown wonders at the annual Tomato Tasting Event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Garden event hall. The heirloom tomato varieties are grown across the four counties of Northwest Arkansas. Meanwhile tomatoes will be readably available for sale outside at the Farmers’ Market

The Tasting is $5 for adults, $2.50 for children and will include live music and tomato-growing advice. For more, visit www.fayettevillefarmersmarket.org or www.ozarkslowfood.org.

Being No. 1

The Farmers’ Market might be more than just a jewel in the crown of Fayetteville, it might end up being a national trophy.
The Fayetteville Farmers’ Market is performing well in the online contest for “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” hosted by the American Farmland Trust. Fayetteville is already tops in the state with 1,032 votes as of July 19. The closest competitor in the state is Bentonville with 37 votes.

As of Tuesday, the venue was behind only Florida’s Venice Farmers Market (1,197 votes) and Michigan’s City of Rockford Farmers Market (1,234) for overall in the country. Voting runs through Aug. 31 and is available at action/farmland.org and clicking on “America’s Favorite Farmers’ Markets” in the “No Farms No Food” dropdown menu.