On Saturday, June 9, the 32nd Annual Creole Tomato Festival will kick off its two-day celebration of food, drink and music in the French Quarter.
Big Daddy O, Darcy Malone & The Tangle, Little Freddie King, Smoky Greenwell and Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Orchestra are among the many artists slotted to take the festival’s two stages over the course of two days.
Yet, even though live music provides the backdrop to many of the city’s celebrations, the true centerpiece of this festival will be the tomatoes, and there will be plenty to go around.
Ben & Ben Becnel’s Farm and George’s Produce are returning with thousands of pounds of creole tomatoes and an assortment of fresh produce and tomato-inspired goods. Namely, George’s Produce will bring back their “Best of the Fest”-winning dish: sliced Creole tomatoes topped with Louisiana lump crab and remoulade. Becnel’s tomatoes will also be used in the Creole Tomato Eating Contest and all of the festival’s cooking demonstrations.
Aspiring cooks can find tomato-tinged inspiration at the Louisiana Cookin’ Culinary Stage, which will feature talks about the Creole tomato, eating contests, giveaways and cooking demonstrations performed by local chefs over the course of both days. There, patrons can see who will win this year’s “Best of the Fest” title along with “don’t miss” foods and Bloody Marys for 2018.
While the festival’s typically extensive list of food vendors has not yet been released, this year’s dishes will all be vying for the festival’s coveted awards in four categories: Tastiest, Healthiest, Most Creative and Most Traditional.
Per usual, the festival’s alcohol selections will follow the tomato theme at the Bloody Mary Market, located in Dutch Alley. Attendees can try Marys, Marias and other tomato-inspired drinks that will be competing for awards like Best Bloody Mary, Most Creative Bloody Mary, Best Garnish and Best Non-Alcoholic Bloody Mary. All participating booths will also offer a two-ounce “sampler size” option for a lesser price in addition to the 12-ounce full-size drinks.
However, the fun is not limited to just the adults; children will have a variety of booths and activities to choose from at the festival’s Kid’s Zone, located on the Barracks Street side of the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint. These booths include Adorn Me Antoinette, ArtCamp504, The Button Lady, LSU AgCenter, PlayBuild NOLA!, We Rock the Spectrum and YAYA (Young Artists Young Aspirations, Inc.).
Additional activities include a two mile run/walk and a Twerk Ya Brass dance class presented by local wellness company Move Ya Brass. More information and the full music schedule can be found at the festival’s website.
