Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival No. 58
Just add bacon and lettuce
Fifty-eight years ago, some forward thinking business folks in Warren, Arkansas had an epiphany when they hatched up the idea of a festival celebrating and touting the glories of their favorite local crop: The pink tomato. They named their event "The Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival and — at the expense of being trite — the rest is history.
It just so happens that the geography of Bradley County was made to order for raising tomatoes. Not the kind that are trucked by the ton to canneries, but the kind that your mama slices and puts on the table. The kind that attack your nodes with acidic pleasure. Every year during the second week in June, thousands gather in Warren to celebrate these, the finest of the fine, table 'maters. Here are 47 pictures from Saturday, June 14, 2014, the last day of the event. Read the stories that go with these pictures at Corndancer dot-com and Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind.
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The first six pix are me watching folks waiting to watch the parade. Here two kids have a seat on the curb while their mother watches for the parade. I like their job better.
Tatoo guy and his daughter take advantage of the shade as they wait for the parade. Turns out, they have quite a bond.
Then tatoo guy strikes up a conversation.
Then the conversation partner's daughter joins in.
Meanwhile across the street, a family, the leader of which, is into piercings, similary awaits the parade.
A man and I presume, his wife strolled up with a couple of fine looking, well-behaved dogs. He watched the parade, she and the dogs opted for shade.
Behold, Miss Pink Tomato, 2014.
Here's little Miss Pink Tomato barely making a dent the the carrying capacity of this big ol' pickup.
U. S. Senator Mark Pryor doing the smile routine while his youthful entourage launch goodies toward onlookers
Former Congressman Mike Ross, a democratic candidate for governor of Arkansas shows his stuff.
My friend of long-standing, Greg Reep of Warren, drives the Ross pickup. Greg has been elected to everything but dog-catcher at one time or another in his home town of Warren.
Asa Hutchinson, republican candidate for governor smiles and waves.
Janis K. Percfull, a write-in candidate for the United States Congress from Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District hoofed it for the parade.
Here is the Warren High School Lumberjack band.
More band.
Part of the brass section.
More brass.
Even more brass.
And the drum corps.
And the rythmic foundation.
Miss Teen Pink Tomato, 2014.
Miss Teen Pink Tomato, 2014, again.
Tatoo guy and daughter strolling across the courthouse square.
Methinks the daquiri part was disabled for Bradley County which is well, kinda legally dry. So to speak.
Not your average Lower Arkansas courthouse square vendors.
This gentleman an lady were grabbing some available shade when she saw something that raised her eyebrows.
This little girls' father and tatoo guy knew each other and struck up a conversation. He did his due diligence as a parent and asked me what was I going to do with the picture. He was satisfied with the answer.
Gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson introducing himself at the "Celebrity" Tomato Eating Contest.
Hutchinson gobbling a tomato.
Mike Ross, also a gubernatorial candidate, wolfing down a tomato in the tomato eating contest.
More tomato eating competitors in the "Celebrity" division.
Tomato eating contestants in the Tomato Eating Contest "Pro" division.
Another "Pro" tomato eater.
And yet another.
One of the vendors, who was in a wheel chair, brought her lion-trimmed Pomeranian to the event, who is sharing a moment with an admirer.
The moment continues.
One final pose.
A family also brought their frisky American Pit Bull Terrier puppy along.
The pup's "Momma" was well prepared for the heat with a tote bag full of goodies and bottled water.
Part of the event was the Tomato Bow BLT Contest. Contestant teams set up BLT preparation stations. Attendees sample their creations and cast ballots for the best.
BLT samples preparated by the "Baconator" team.
The "Baconator" team.
The Mad Butcher team.
The 1 800 THE SPOT team.
Another team and I am direlict in not getting the team name.
The courthouse square in full festival bloom.
The Jaws inflatable. Da-da; Da-Da; Da-da; da-da-da-da-da-da-, slurp!
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