© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

East Nashville Festival Celebrates All Things Tomato Art

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The end of summer is coming soon, so let's go south for the final installment in our tour of offbeat festivals.

BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: This is Blake Farmer in East Nashville reporting from the annual Tomato Art Festival.

JOSANNA BANKS: I'm Josanna Banks (ph), and I'm a librarian at East High School.

FARMER: This getup - you have quite the outfit.

BANKS: It's a basket of cherry tomatoes. We're the cheery tomatoes.

FARMER: Cheery tomatoes.

BANKS: So we're cheery tomatoes. So we have a basket with lots of little beach balls and balloons.

JASON MALLORY: My name is Jason Mallory (ph).

FARMER: How do you explain this?

MALLORY: It's a little bit of Mardi Gras, and it's a celebration of the tomato.

FARMER: I mean are you a real tomato lover, or are you just...

MALLORY: I like to party.

FARMER: So if you walk around the Tomato Art Festival - far more art than tomatoes.

Do you mind telling me your name, who you are?

BARRY GERTEN: Barry Gerten (ph).

SALLY BLUE: My name is Sally Blue.

FARMER: Are these Bloody Marys that you're holding also a big part of it because I think I could get...

BLUE: Huge.

FARMER: It's time to hit the kids' corner in the Tomato Art Festival. This is Amanda Knight (ph) spray-painting the heads of small children.

Are you letting your child get her hair spray-painted?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I am. We do it every year.

FARMER: That's the sound of a child's head getting spray-painted like a tomato.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Now you look like a tomato. And she's off.

FARMER: It's the event everyone's been waiting for - tomato-inspired fashion for dogs.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We have some events coming up. We have some dogs coming up. And let's kick it off right now with Timmy. Timmy's a Min Pin. He's about 10 years old we think.

FARMER: OK. I still have not sampled any tomatoes, but I'm signing off as it is beginning to rain. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer at the Tomato Art Festival in East Nashville. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Blake Farmer
Blake Farmer is WPLN's assistant news director, but he wears many hats - reporter, editor and host. He covers the Tennessee state capitol while also keeping an eye on Fort Campbell and business trends, frequently contributing to national programs. Born in Tennessee and educated in Texas, Blake has called Nashville home for most of his life.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.