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Photo courtesy of The Tennessean
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Photo courtesy of The Tennessean
The 17th annual Tomato Art Fest is going to look and feel a bit different this year.
The beloved festival will now move to a full weekend of activities starting Thursday, August 6 and ending Sunday, August 9. The festival, which has previously been held out on the streets in East Nashville's five points neighborhood, will now feature a combination of both in-person and online events.
“While we would love to have the full festival this August, we are thrilled to continue supporting our east Nashville community with a weekend of tomato themed activities including a Tornado Relief Concert, porch parade and plenty of wacky (online) contests,” stated Jack Davis of Good Neighbor Festivals, whose festival team has been managing the annual event for the past 12 years.
One thing that will remain the same this year as it has in the previous 17, is The Tomato Art Show. This year's show will once again feature hundreds of fruits and vegetable themed artwork in the former Art and Invention Gallery Space. The first chance to see the incredible work is at the Art Show Pre-View Party on Thursday, August 6.
As Nashville continues to recover from the March 3 tornados, festival organizers are also planning a Tomato Art Fest Tornado Relief Concert to take place on Saturday, August 8 in East Park. The socially-distanced outdoor event will raise funds with 100% of proceeds after expenses going to support local hospitality workers, musicians, and artists affected by the March tornado.
The most noticeable change this year will be the move of contests and vendors into cyberspace. The ever-popular Bloody Mary Garden Party will return this year with new health and safety precautions in place. To ensure everyone's safety, festival organizers have also opted to transition the traditional Tomato Parade to a Porch Parade. Houses, businesses, and apartments along the parade route can register to be a part of the Porch Parade starting in July. Nashvillians are encouraged to walk, run, bike, or drive the parade route from August 1 through August 8.
For the most updated information on the festival, visit tomatoartfest.com or download the new Tomato Art Fest app.