Festomato Is Coming To Princeton, Sept. 7

PRINCETON, NJ — Festomato, a celebration of New Jersey organic tomatoes, will be held in Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Princeton Public Library and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey are presenting the free festival running from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Hinds Plaza at 63 Witherspoon St. in Princeton, rain or shine.

Festomato will include activities for all ages including crafts, cooking demonstrations, speakers, a canning workshop and children’s programs. There will be live music from three bands and plenty of food and drink selections made with tomatoes to taste.

More than 50 varieties of organic tomatoes will also be available from local farmers including Abe’s Acres Farm, Cherry Grove Farm, Cherry Valley Farm, Chickadee Creek Farm and Muth Family Farm.

Out in the Plaza

• Noon to 3 p.m. Cherry Valley Cooperative, that has been recognized for its Farm to School program, will lead the children’s program with the help of local high school kids
• Tomato preserving demos (Kim Rizk)
• 11 a.m. Seed Saving Classes (Nate Kleinman)
• Noon to 3 p.m. Garden Doctor (Judith Robinson, Al Johnson and Stephanie Harris)

For the Community Room

• 11 a.m. – Noon Cooking demonstration, Christina Pirello, PBS Chef, demonstrating a tomato dish and the benefits of cooking organic
• Noon to 1 p.m. Prof Tom Orton, Rutgers University, tomato breeding and how it impacts on the organic farming community
• 1 to 2 p.m. Tessa Desmond, Princeton University, Transforming our Food System to a More Regionally Based One
• 2 to 3 p.m. Al Johnson, Healthy Soils/Healthy Planet
• 3 to 4 p.m. Stephanie Harris, President of NOFA-NJ Planting a Climate Victory Garden!
• 4 to 5 p.m. Judith Robinson Tomato Pollinators Tomato and how to create Pollinator Oases

Participating Bands include Bill Flemer and GoodBye Blue, Matthew Backes and Ron Greenstein, and Carolyn Klaube and ALBO.

Participating restaurants are Arlee’s Raw Blends, The Bent Spoon, Jammin’ Crepes, Jules Thin Crust Pizza, Lillipies, Local Greek, Terra Momo Restaurant Group, Tico’s Eatery and Juice Bar, Tortuga’s Mexican Village, Triumph Brewing and Witherspoon Grill.

Festomato is co-sponsored by Princeton Studies Food and McCaffrey’s Food Market. Additional funding is being provided by the library’s Princeton Environmental Film Festival and the Whole Earth Center of Princeton.

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