25th annual Tomato Fest coming Sept. 11 & 12

The 25th annual TomatoFest is almost here! It will be held at Emerson Park on Owasco Lake in Owasco from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11 and 12. It promises to be a memorable event.Everyone who attends will enjoy continual free live music. This year’s Tomatofest features a golf ball drop with a grand prize of $5,000, a wine tasting, a Tomato Parade, and much, much more.A wide variety of delicious foods will be sold. Fried green tomatoes and a pasta dinner are special favorites. Creative crafts, beautiful flowers, fresh local tomatoes and other produce will be available.There will be a variety of age-appropriate activities for children in the pavilion. Children younger than 12 get in free with a can of food. The cans are then divided among participating food pantries for distribution to their clients.Parking is provided at Auburn High School with free shuttle bus rides to the main gate. Admission for adults is $3 and for children it is $1.The county food pantries encourage the community to take advantage of this opportunity to fight local hunger. With the sluggish economy and the high rate of unemployment, there seems to be an ever-increasing need for food at the food pantries. Thanks to many generous sponsors and hundreds of volunteers, much of the money that supports the food pantries throughout the year is raised at this exciting event.For more info, visit http://www.cnytomatofest.org.