Red Fire Farm will host its 16th annual Tomato Festival on Saturday, Aug. 27. The end of summer celebration at peak harvest will include a big brass band, music, local food and craft vendors, games, kids activities, wagon rides and a tomato tasting featuring more than 75 varieties. The festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. at 7 Carver St. in Granby. Among the many types of tomatoes to taste this year will be classics like Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, and Paul Robeson, as well as more exotic offerings, such as Arkansas Marvel, Gold Dust, Chocolate Stripes, Sunsets Red Horizon and Moonglow. The collection of cherry tomatoes is popular each year, as well, with great varieties, including Matt’s Wild and Red Pearl, along with the more unusual Indigo Cherry Drop, Egg Yolk, Lemon Drop and Pink Bumble Bee.
In addition to tasting tomatoes, the farm will have a day filled with tomato-themed events geared toward families. This year there will be a Great Tomato Toss, with prizes available for those who can catch the longest throws without getting sauced. Plus, tomato spoon races, vegetable sculpture, vegetable stamp painting, face painting and more.
Under the music tent, The Party Band, a wild many-piece brass band from Lowell, along with other bands and musicians, including Violet Maeve, Larry Dulong & Random Sighting and Will Kindler.
Admission is $14 for adults, $7 for children. Kids under 8 years old are free. There’s free parking. Advance tickets at discounts available online at: www.redfirefarm.com
Local restaurants will celebrate the harvest with special events this year, and CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) will celebrate the local restaurants that support local farms, so if you have questions, call Devon Whitney-Deal at 413-665-7100, ext. 22.
Taylor’s Tavern, 238 Main St. in Greenfield will hold a Food and Farm Trivia Night Thursday, Aug. 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. Teams of four to six players may participate, and there will be prizes.
Bread & Butter at 68 Cowles Road in Amherst will hold a chicken and waffles dinner on Friday, Aug. 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. If you’d like more information or to make reservations, call 413-230-3123.
Bistro Les Gras at 25 West St. in Northampton will hold a Meet the Farmer Dinner on Monday, Aug. 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. The menu will highlight some of the best our local farmers have to offer. To reserve your table, call 413-320-4666.
Crimson & Clover Farm at 215 Spring St. in Florence will hold Dinner in the Fields with Wheelhouse Farm Truck on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. For more information, contact CISA.
Winter Farmers Market at River Garden in Brattleboro, Vt., is calling for vendors for the 2016-2017 season. Space for new vendors is limited, but interested parties are encouraged to submit an application prior to the deadline of Sept. 15.
The market opens on Nov. 5 and runs every Saturday through March 25 for a total of 21 markets. The Winter Farmers Market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday, except the three Saturdays before Christmas, when it is open until 3 p.m. A wide array of products are typically sold, including locally grown produce, vegetables, meats, eggs, baked goods, wines and much more. It’s a juried market, so new and returning vendors will need to present their items for jury at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Community Room of Brattleboro Savings and Loan. Also, call Susan Dunning at 802-228-3230. For more information about the market, call Sherry at 802-869-2141 or email: farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.org