A wide variety of tomatoes, such as these by Signal Mountain Farms, will be offered Sunday at Chattanooga Market's Tomato Festival.IF YOU GOWhat: Tomato Festival at Chattanooga MarketWhen: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, July 28Where: First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter St.Admission: FreePhone: 423-648-2496Website: chattanoogamarket.com
Whether you say to-may-to or to-mah-to, the Chattanooga Market can satisfy your craving for the red, ripe and juicy fruit this weekend at its annual Tomato Festival.
"The selection is amazing," says marketing director Melissa Siragusa, "and they're selling like crazy."
Some 10 vendors will be on hand at First Tennessee Pavilion to offer heirloom, organic, green, cherry and other tomato varieties. Among them are Signal Mountain Farms, Flattop Mountain Farm, Lowes Family Farm, See Suns Produce and White City Produce.
Many of the vendors will offer recipe cards detailing dishes that can be made with the wide variety of tomatoes and offer other ways in which tomatoes can be used in their meals.
"There are so many varieties -- dozens of varieties," she says.
Food vendors also will be encouraged to incorporate the fruit into the fresh dishes they'll be serving outside the market.
The Muenster Truck, for instance, will be offering grilled cheese sandwiches such as its The Tomato Explains It All, which includes sharp cheddar and vine-ripe tomatoes.
Music will be provided at 12:30 p.m. by Chattanooga's Tiffany Taylor, who received a 2012 MakeWork grant for songwriting and has performed pop and rhythm-and-blues songs at a number of local venues, and at 2 p.m. by Nashville singer/songwriter Dustin Overbeek, whose four albums have touched on his folk/storytelling roots and Christian beliefs.
Contact staff writer Clint Cooper at ccooper@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6497. Subscribe to his posts online at Facebook.com/ClintCooperCTFP.