Celebrating the Tomato, and…!

One of these days, maybe in December, I’m going to stop complaining about the heat! There have been seven Tomato Festivals in East Nashville, all of them in August, all of them hot. 2010 wins the heat prize with 100 degrees!

The Tomato Festival was started in 2002 by Meg and Bret MacFadyen whose gallery, Art and Invention, has been on the leading edge of the resurgence of a fine, old and eclectic neighborhood into an arts and crafts haven and destination for new restaurants and happenings in Nashville. The first Festival consisted of a show at the Arts and Invention Gallery and a few tents in the front yard. This year, in spite of the heat, there were tents lining all five streets of Five Points and thousands of people (twenty thousand in 2009!) coming to display their crafts, buy some art, parade their kids and dogs, dress themselves or their cars in crazy costumes and generally participate in celebrating “the tomato – a uniter, not a divider – bringing together fruits and vegetables”.

Dress up like a tomato. It's more fun that way. Check out the photographer's shirt if you think it wasn't hot!

Or decorate your vehicle. It's good if you have a red car.

The decorator of this car is clearly an overachiever.

One of the many colorful, creative vendor tents.

The Crafty Wench with some of her Funkee Munkees.

There's plenty of art to be purchased, tomato and otherwise. This photo from the 2006 Festival.

You can even buy a tomato, like these heirlooms.

Or eat a tomato! Or a hot dog, or maybe something beaten, battered and fried? It's all there at Five Points.

There's plenty of music.

Stop all that exertion! It's a hundred degrees out here! Look, there's the heat policeman coming to get you.

I wouldn’t have missed the Tomato Festival, no matter what the temperature was. I’m accustomed by now to those little rivulets of ‘dew’ that run out from under my hair and down my neck, and I’m a reluctant expert in midday sun photography. The real reason that I wouldn’t miss it this year is that my children used the occasion of the Tomato Festival to make the public announcement of their soon to be built Five Points Animal Hospital. Until construction is complete, Janet will be available for house calls and consultations. I am proud of them, and happy that Janet is fulfilling her long held dream of operating her own veterinary clinic.

Janet is not in the following photo, because I had just returned her children to her at the house before going over to get some photos of the 5 Points Animal Hospital booth. Robert was there greeting all the people who were thrilled to learn of the clinic coming to East Nashville, and to give them dog cookies, tomato print neck scarves, business information, an animal shaped balloon creation, and to collect the survey cards they filled out. Anyone filling out a survey got a ticket for a mico chip implant for their pet in a house call, or at the clinic once it’s open.

Exciting new East Nashville business!

Filling out survey cards and collecting goodies for their pets.

Children love balloon creations. Most of the creations were special requests. This one seems to be a poodle climbing a palm tree. I'm not really sure, but I wasn't going to ask.

The Tomato Festival has become a big event in the  summer calendar of East Nashville. This year it marks a major milestone in the 5 Points Animal Hospital project. I think in 2010 it also marked the zenith of summer heat. The 2011 Festival will be here soon enough, and a building project like the animal clinic takes time and patience, but I would like some cooler temperatures right now!  Please!

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