PITTSTON — The 36th Pittston Tomato Festival will be held in downtown Thursday, Aug. 15 through Sunday, Aug. 18.
Over 50,000 people will attend the award winning four-day event that has been touted as one of the best festivals in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Food, a variety of live entertainment, tomato fights, a parade, 5K run and walk, games, artists and, of course, home-grown Pittston tomatoes bring an enthusiastic crowd to the festival year after year.
The festival’s opening ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 15 followed by live entertainment.
Saturday’s events begin at 10 a.m. with the Pittston Tomato Festival 5K Run and Fun Walk. Registration starts at 8 a.m. at the Greater Pittston YMCA.
The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and will be televised live on Fox 56. The route will start at the A-Plus Mini Mart and continue through Main Street, down Kennedy Boulevard, ending at the Cooper’s Co-op building.
The Tomato Fights will be held at 1:30 p.m. at Cooper’s Waterfront parking lot, 304 Kennedy Boulevard. Registration will be held at Cooper’s beginning at 11:30 a.m. Participants must be 12 years of age or older. Entry fee is $10. Tomato Fights t-shirts will be available for a $10 donation with all proceeds benefiting Greater Pittston charities.
A Tomato Contest will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Tomato Festival Committee stand on the festival grounds. Bring your largest, smallest, ugliest, and most perfect tomato to the stand by 6 p.m. for judging.
The Little Miss & Little Mr. Tomato Contest begins at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, followed by live entertainment until the festival closes at 9 p.m.
The Pittston Tomato Festival has been featured in Parade Magazine, The Washington Post and Pennsylvania Magazine and was preserved as part of the Library of Congress Local Legacies Project in Washington D.C.
For more information, call 570-655-1424 or visit www.pittstontomatofestival.com
