Weekend in the Country - A Tomato Fest

Ketchup With The Latest

Please note -- this is the 2011 Festival site, the 2012 site is under construction

Watch for further updates

"Recipes from the Garden" cookbook

The "Recipes from the Garden" cookbooks are now available. With plenty of participation from local veggie enthusiasts, we have lots of great tomato and other veggie recipes collected in this cookbook. You can find them at Casto Oaks Fine Wine & Art at 5022 Hwy 140 (corner of 5th St/Hwy 140) in Mariposa or you can buy the cookbooks the weekend of the event. It's a great buy for only $10 each. Pick up a few, as they make great birthday or Christmas presents.

The Mighty Grizzly Show Band

James Brown and the Temptations? Yep, they play that! Beach Boys, Deep Purple, Isaac Hayes and Skynyrd too... in fact, there's not a whole lot they DON'T do! The High Country's premier good time and party band will perform at the Mariposa Arts Park September 24th for the Tomato Festival! The Mighty Grizzly Show-Band, led by Dr."Phil Good" Smith, will bring their up-tempo, fun show to the park to salute the Mariposa Community and thank their many supporters. Made up of star players from Mariposa County High School's Grammy Award winning Grizzly Band, the Show Band has gained a reputation for over a dozen years as one of the most popular musical groups in the county.

So, bring a blanket or lawn chair, a cold drink... and get ready to have a good time and hear some great music! The show will kick off around 1:00pm, and is, of course, free... but if you want to help out the kids with their New York trip, donations will be graciously accepted! See you Saturday, September 24.

The Figments

The Figments are an acoustic, folk rock group led by singer / songwriter Jae Rymer. Mixing melodic riffs with heartfelt lyrics, Rymer has been playing music all over California for 20+ years. Jared Jesperson adds soaring electric guitar lines and accompanies with dance-worthy grooves on the mandolin and keyboard. His new wife Kaye has a soulful angelic voice that blends well and also provides rhythym guitar. Last but not least, Greg Torres keeps the beat pounding on standup bass with Austin Ridenhour rounding out the group on drums. The Figments are sure to impress, drawing from their jam-band influences like the Grateful Dead and Phish, and Americana rockers Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

Come by, sit a spell and listen to this great band on Saturday, September 24 from 3:30pm to 6:00pm.

6th Street Cinema presents: The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

"The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes", on Saturday, September 24 at 7:30pm. Admission is $7.00 for the general public, and $5.00 for Tomato Fest attendees.

The film, which most of us have heard of, needs little introduction. Also, there is little in the way of plot: evil tomatoes attack, a hero saves the day. Not even a B movie, it's more like a B-. You'll groan, you'll laugh, you'll groan some more, but you will never be able to say "Please pass the ketchup", with quite the same innocence again.

The Sixth Street Cinema is Mariposa's only art house theater, and usually shows really good, award-winning foreign and American Independent films and documentaries. For more information, please go to www.sixthstreetcinema.org.

California State Mining and Mineral Museum at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds

You are invited to discover for yourself California's mineral wealth, colorful history & geologic diversity as you view the official mineral collection of the state of California.

The collection, which began in 1880, contains over 13,000 objects including the Fricot "Nugget". You can also take a trip back in time as you walk through a mine tunnel and see how gold was mined in the mid-1800s.

There is a fee of $4.00 per adult, 12 and under are free. Open daily 10am-5pm. There is also a Junior Ranger program available for children 7-12 yrs. old.

mineralmuseum@sti.net (209)742-7625

Directions: Located at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds, 1.8 miles south of Mariposa on Hwy 49 South. Turn left into the fairgrounds and it is on your left through the parking lot.

Mariposa Museum and History Center

The purpose and mission of the Mariposa Museum & History Center is the discovery, collection, preservation, interpretation, exhibition and demonstration of material culture, visual objects and documents that best illustrate the history of Mariposa County.

Inside displays are some of the best in the West, according to the Smithsonian Institute. You will learn about the Miwuk Indians, the gold miner's cabin, daily life in Mariposa County, about the the Mariposa County Courthouse (still in operation), the Chinese influence, and much more through beautifully crafted displays.

On the grounds are a working stamp mill, the old Mariposa Gazette newspaper office, a blacksmith shop, a broom making shop, gold panning lessons, a variety of old mining equipment, and much more.

5119 Jessie Street MMHC@sti.net (209)966-2924

Open daily, 10am-4pm. Adult admission is $4; children under 18 are free. Directions: In Mariposa, located at the corner of Jessie Street and Coakley Circle, just off of Highway 140. The adjacent parking lot is a rest stop.

ICES Children's Festival

Infant/Child Enrichment Services, Inc (ICES) is a non-profit, public benefit agency that administers a variety of child care related programs. Services include, but are not limited to, free child care referrals for parents; recruitment, licensing assistance, and training for child care providers; and help with the cost of child care for eligible families.

ICES will sponsor the 22nd annual Children's Fair-Day in the Park on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 10:00am - 2:00 pm at the Mariposa County Park. Local agencies, licensed child care centers and family child care providers will be providing fun, free activities to children 1-12.

Children attending should bring their bicycles for Bike Rodeo with Officer Brian Lunquist from the Mariposa County Sheriff's Department. other highlights of this year's fair include balloon creations by "Belle Balloon-a-Twister", music provided by "The Sound Man" and a variety of craft projects ranging from butterfly art to woodworking.

All activities are free; however, for a small price snacks will be available. For further information, please call ICES at (209)966-4474.

Tomato Fest Salsa Contest

Get out your award-winning salsa recipes and enter them in the Tomato Fest Salsa Contest. The list of ingredients is only limited by your imagination. Gather your ingredients and bring them to the Mariposa Arts Park on Sunday, September 25 between 10-11am.

Fill out your salsa contest application below. The contest is open to the first 20 applications received The deadline for applying is September 15.
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Tastings will be from noon to 2pm.

The winner will be decided by People's Choice at 2:30pm.

Tomato Fest Salsa Contest Application

Tomato Fest Tomato Judging Contest

The Weekend in the Country: A Tomato Fest is looking for people who want to make their tomatoes winners.

September is tomato harvest time. You may have an award-winning tomato right outside your door. They can be Heirloom or Hybrid tomatoes. There may be a category or 2 for you to enter. The categories are: largest tomato, smallest tomato, most oddly formed tomato, best group of tomatoes (must submit 3) and best group of Heirloom tomatoes (must submit 3).

Make your tomatoes winners and bring them Saturday, September 24 between 9:00am and 10:30am to the Mariposa Arts Park. Judging will begin at 11:00am and winners will be announced at noon.

Just bring your tomatoes on a white paper plate with what category you want to enter on top and your name and contact information underneath. No applications to fill out.

Mariposa's First Fresh Veggie Art Contest

What is fresh veggie art? It’s a sculpture made from fruits and veggies. So use your imagination and show off your artistic abilities. Pioneer Market, partnering with Weekend in the Country: A Tomato Fest, announces the first ever Fresh Veggie Art Contest. September is harvest season, so a good time to enjoy your veggies.

The dimensions of your work of art are not to exceed 18” in any direction. This contest is limited to the first 20 applications returned. Bring your works of art to Pioneer Market on Friday, September 16th at noon. They will remain on display until Tuesday, September 20th. The winner will be selected by Pioneer Market on Friday night at 6:00 pm and receive a $40 Pioneer Market gift certificate..

Fresh Veggie Art Contest Application

Tomato Eating Contest

The Weekend in the Country: A Tomato Fest is announcing that we are going to have a good old-fashioned tomato eating contest. How many tomatoes do you think you could down in 3 minutes? 5, 10, 15 tomatoes. Come and show everybody how it’s done.

Contestants can enter on Saturday, September 24 at 3:00 pm at the Arts Park and more contestants can enter on Sunday, September 25 at 3:00pm at the Arts Park. No applications needed. It is limited to the first 10 entrants each day. Show up with your appetites for tomatoes and maybe a bib. It could get messy.

Tomato Haiku: A Contest

What is haiku? It is a Japanese verse form of 3 unrhymed lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables respectively, usually on some subject in nature. This time it will be about tomatoes.

Send Windows on the World Bookstore your best Tomato Haiku to michael.odom@windowsontheworld.ws by September 16th. The Winner will be announced at the Tomato Fest and in the bookstore September 24 & 25.

The winner will receive a $40 Windows on the World gift certificate. Favorites will be posted on the Windows on the World website, the Tomato Fest website and Facebook.

Now, go give the tomatoes a long hard look and get to poeticizing!

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