Tomato festival marks 15 years of celebrating the humble fruit
Published 12:10 am Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Israel Lewis made the diving catch to win the tomato toss for he and his partner at Saturday's Woodleaf Tomato Festival. Elisabet Strillacci
Jody Pickett of Wreaths for Veterans was at the annual Tomato Festival at Unity Presbyterian Church Saturday. ES
West Rowan Elementary School's Ukele Club provided part of the entertainment at the Tomato Festival. ES
Representing Post 106 at the Woodleaf Tomato Festival are, from left, Carolyn Overcash, Mary Burton, Shirley Jackson, Kayla Magee and Loraine Renfro. ES
For the first time there was a tomato derby contest in the annual Tomato Festival for the best decorated hat, including this entry. ES
Ryland Tafoia, left, and Israel Lewis, both 17 and classmates as well as friends, are presented with medals for winning the tomato toss at the Woodleaf Tomato Festival Saturday. ES
Half of the Cosmic Jugglers team worked on entertaining those seated under tents at the Woodleaf Tomato Festival Saturday. The event is an annual fundraiser for the Unity Presbyterian Church. ES
WOODLEAF — There could not have been finer weather for the 15th annual Tomato Festival at the Unity Presbyterian Church on Saturday.
Cooler temperatures and a near constant breeze kept the hundreds who attended from overheating while engaging in events like the tomato toss and the tomato eating contest. A diving catch between partners Israel Lewis and Ryland Tafoia landed the pair in the winner’s circle in the tomato toss, which involves tossing a tomato-colored and shaped sponge soaked in water back and forth as the teams continue to take steps farther apart.
A tomato eating contest ended in a need for extra napkins, and new this year was a tomato derby hat contest for the best decorated chapeau.
The West Rowan Ukele Club provided part of the entertainment that ran throughout the event, which lasted from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The event is an annual fundraiser for the church to help sustain outreach and projects throughout the year. As always, visitors could choose from treats including tomato sandwiches (on white bread with mayonnaise and packets of salt and pepper), barbecue sandwiches, ham or sausage biscuits, hamburgers and hot dogs, ice cream, snow cones and even muscadine grape slushies.
The Moore Brothers Farm again provided hay rides for those attending, and by 1 p.m. they had already done more than 100 rides.
“I look forward to this every year,” said Dick Moore. He and his wife, Linda, his brother Stanley, and Stanley’s wife Jane, not only offered the hay rides but rock painting as well.
“We’ve told them they can leave a rock in the flower garden here at the church if they want, and some of them have,” said Linda.
Stanley said the first two years of the festival there was a train for rides, but he and his brother have been offering hay rides for the last 13 years and typically it is non-stop. There was a slight break in the action Saturday, but the cooler temps helped it pick up again.
The American Legion Kennedy Hall Post 106 and the non-profit organization Wreaths for Veterans were both on hand to raise funds and awareness for projects. The Post has adopted a wing at the VA hospital to support and raises funds to help with placing wreaths on the National Cemetery graves, and the Wreaths for Veterans raises funds to place wreaths at both the original and the satellite National Cemeteries.
