Tomato Festivals!
Join us as we celebrate the “Love Apple” with tastings, beautiful and informative displays and recipes to make with those delectable heirlooms you just found at the market. This year, we’re celebrating the sweeter side of tomatoes in honour of award-winning gelatiere, James Coleridge from Bella Gelateria, who is crafting tomato basil gelato from Sole Food Street Farms tomatoes and Earth Apple Farm basil! This limited edition gelato will be available at the Trout Lake & Kitsilano Tomato Festivals until sold out. Proceeds go to help support farmers markets in Vancouver.
Instagram Contest
Take a picture of the weirdest, most imperfect and obscure tomato that you find at the Kerrisdale, Trout Lake, West End, Kitsilano, Mt Pleasant, Main St Station or Yaletown Farmers Markets this week. Tag it #inglorioustomato and you could win $20 to spend at Vancouver Farmers Markets! Contest ends August 22 at noon.
Event Schedule
- Trout Lake – Saturday, August 23, 9am-2pm (North Parking Lot, John Hendry Park)
- Kitsilano – Sunday, August 24, 10am-2pm (Kitsilano Community Centre, 10th Ave and Larch St)
Activity Line-up
- Tomato Display: Did you know there are over 150 different varieties of tomatoes at the Trout Lake and Kitsilano Farmers Markets? Check out our display tent to see some of the different varieties as well as suggestions for how to eat them
- Tomato Tasting: What better way to get to know tomatoes than to taste them? We’ll sample Black Krim, Green Zebra, Taxi, Brandywine and many more!
- Kid’s Activities: Look for our scavenger hunt, tomato facts, colouring sheets and more
- Recipes: We’re looking for sweet tomato recipes – cakes, pies, jams, even sweet roasted tomato recipes. Share yours on our Facebook page or pick some up at the markets!
Trout Lake Extras
- Inglorious Tomato Display & Tasting: Have you heard what the French supermarket chain, Intermarche, is doing with ugly vegetables? We’ve challenged our vendors to submit some of their ugliest tomatoes for display. Inglorious tomatoes will be sampled near the end of the day.
- Interactive activities with SPEC
Kitsilano Extras
- Seed-Saving: pick up some seed-saving tips from Kelsi at Homesteader’s Emporium
- Chef Tours: the lovely chefs from Cooking Journeys will teach you how to shop for the tastiest tomato, which varieties are best for which uses, and tips on how your bounty of tomatoes can be preserved to last throughout the year. Sign up to reserve your space!
Spread the Word!
- Print & put up our Tomato Fest Event Poster
- Join our event on Facebook
- Tag an #inglorioustomato photo on Instagram
- Tweet about #tomatofest
