In celebration of National Farmers Market Week, two Tri-Cities-area markets held Tomato Festivals on Saturday, August 8, just as the late-summer tomato harvest hit its stride. From an heirloom tomato taste test in Bristol to tomato contests and a Salsa Showdown in Kingsport, both markets gave visitors plenty to see—and taste.
State Street Farmers Market Celebrates Tomatoes in Bristol
Tomato Biscuits Start the Morning
At the State Street Farmers Market, Market Manager Ava White handed out free tomato biscuits—Bojangles biscuits topped with slices of heirloom tomato.
Yes, tomato biscuits.
Cherokee Purple Wins the Heirloom Tomato Taste Test
One of the morning’s highlights put two heirloom tomato varieties, Big Rainbow and Cherokee Purple, head-to-head in a taste test. Visitors sampled both varieties and cast their votes.
Cherokee Purple won. It got my vote, too.
Bristol Vendors Create Tomato-Themed Specialties
Vendors throughout the market joined the celebration with tomato-themed specialties. Fleenor’s Meats brought Tomato Basil and Salsa Brats, while Laurel Brooks Farm and Wild Yeast Company offered homemade pizza sauce.
I also picked up a loaf of Walnut Pesto Sourdough from Bread by Angie.
Our Backyard Farm Keeps a Busy Farmers Market Schedule
At the Our Backyard Farm booth, Norma Sierra and Dario sold tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and peaches while keeping up with a farmers market schedule that takes the family to several communities around the region.
“We are here today at Bristol and Abingdon,” Norma said. “Wednesday is Lebanon and State Street. And Thursday is the Chilhowie Farmer’s Market.”
Their table featured jalapeños, red bell peppers, slicer and beefsteak tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and tomatillos. They also brought fresh, perfectly ripe peaches.
Kingsport Farmers Market Hosts Tomato Festival Activities
Over in Kingsport, the free public event offered plenty to do throughout the morning.
Local musicians performed as children gathered at craft tables to decorate tomatoes or red paper plates. Members of the Peak Young Professionals group prepared and handed out free tomato sandwiches while supplies lasted.
Tomato Contests Bring Out the Competition
Tomato contests added a competitive side to the morning. Jim Lafollette won both Biggest Tomato and Best Dressed Tomato, while Sabra Fender took the prize for Ugliest Tomato.
The Salsa Showdown gave festival-goers another chance to join the competition by sampling homemade salsas and voting for their favorites.
Elana Boggess of Love Confections took first place in the Salsa Showdown. Marlene McNealy finished second, and Sabra Fender added a third-place Salsa Showdown finish to her Ugliest Tomato win.
Boar and Branch Farm Brings Produce, Jams and Hot Sauce
Cameron Coates of Boar and Branch Farm brought home-grown tomatoes along with an assortment of fresh produce and jarred goods.
Cameron Coates Continues Expanding the Farm’s Product Line
Coates has made salsas and hot sauces since 2022, including “Doc’s, Only the Fool Hardy Hot Sauce.”
“We’ve been working on products over the years,” Coates said. “Trying to add some each year.”
This year, Coates added pickled beets to a lineup that already includes apple butter and grape, blackberry and blueberry jams.
Local Fruit Goes into Boar and Branch Jams
Coates sources some of the fruit for those jams from other growers.
He uses grapes from his own farm for grape jam and gets blackberries from a friend. He also sources blueberries from a farm near Chuckey with about 1,500 plants.
The Boar and Branch table featured more than jarred goods. Coates also brought red cabbage, half-runner green beans, peppers, Asian pears and home-grown tomatoes.
Love Confections Takes a Sweet Business Into Savory Territory
Elana Boggess, owner of Love Confections, came to the festival with more than baked goods on her mind.
Boggess usually focuses on baking. She describes Love Confections as a whimsical sweet shop specializing in “rustic patisserie” and operates a mobile bakery that offers custom treats.
At the Kingsport Farmers Market, however, she turned her attention to salsa.
Elana Boggess Wins First Place With Smoked Green Tomato Salsa
Boggess created a smoked green tomato salsa with jalapeños, poblanos and serranos for the Salsa Showdown and took home the first-place trophy.
“All of my vegetables came from the farmers market here,” Boggess said.
Her winning salsa used vegetables sourced from the same farmers market where she competed, putting the season’s tomato harvest at the center of her first-place recipe.
More Farmers and Vendors Join the Tomato Festivals
The farmers, bakers and makers featured here represented only some of the vendors who took part in the weekend’s events.
Snowflake Farms, Sweet Sage Bakery, Fiorini Flowers, Jearoldstown Roots, Morslz, Sourdough Treasury, McNally Farms of Rogersville and J&J Farms were also among those set up at the Kingsport Farmers Market.
Between the tomatoes, baked goods, jams, sauces, brats and everything else filling the tables, both markets offered more than could fit into one story.
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