Carrboro Farmers Market-goers dress in their cherry best for annual Tomato Day

The scent of fresh tomatoes wafted through downtown Carrboro on Saturday morning, accompanied by community members dressed in outfits inspired by the food. They met one another with words of “Happy Tomato Day” — a sign of Carrboro Farmers Market’s biggest annual event of the year.

Since 1997, the celebration has been a way for the community to celebrate North Carolina’s peak tomato harvest season, featuring more than 70 tomato varieties from local farmers, food samples from vendors and limited-edition merchandise with this year’s Tomato Day design. 

This year marks the market’s 45th anniversary. It originally sat behind Armadillo Grill, but it wasn't until the market moved to its current location at 301 W. Main St. in 1996 that it had room to host events like Tomato Day.

Alex Hitt, owner of Peregrine Farm and a market volunteer, said the festival debuted as one of the CFM’s first events. In the festival’s early days, he said patrons would taste all the tomato varieties at the market and vote on their favorite one. 

“But that's so complicated to do that they've slowly moved it to just tasting a few of them, and being more of an educational event,” Hitt said. 

The Tomato Day crowd has grown over the years, with last year’s turnout at more than 6,000 attendees. Farmers have responded by growing and bringing more kinds of tomatoes to the festival, Hitt said.

This year, the market had roughly 6,900 attendees on Tomato Day – during the regular season, they usually see around 3,500 people on a normal market day. 

In between sampling a spicy carrot tomato soup from Short Winter Soups or trying The Cheese Shop’s tomato and feta Greek salad, patrons could learn about the tomato types in Tomato Day zines or from Hitt at the tomato display station. 

At the station, Hitt answered questions about the dozens of different kinds of tomatoes arranged on the table’s gingham tablecloth. He said his favorite part of the day each year is the people's amazement by the variety and the difference in each tomatoes taste. 

“Folks just think, ‘that’s a red tomato,’ and then they realize that there’s just so much potential,” he said. 

CFM Assistant Manager Chloé Sherer said the free zines were a new addition this year as a way to offer more information to attendees in a fun, concise way. 

Available at the market’s welcome stations in both physical and digital copies, the cover displayed this year’s Tomato Day design. Featured inside were tomato recipes like tomato jam, descriptions of cheese pairings that go best with different tomato types and a list of Carrboro restaurants offering Tomato Day specials in honor of the event. It also provided information like how to store fresh tomatoes, terminology and tomato trivia.

“We really want to consolidate all of that information into one piece, which is why we made the zine, and [it is] also something to take home,” Sherer said.

Community members could use the pamphlet to navigate the packed market with a map and a list of the vendors selling specific tomato types. It also included a note-taking section to jot down thoughts about the tomato samples throughout the market, and an activity to discover your heirloom tomato name — according to which, The Daily Tar Heel’s is Golden Double Plum.

“[The map] really helped us because we were searching for some of them,” Eri Kakoki, a market-goer, said. “We're on the hunt.”

Carborro natives, Eri and her sister Ayano have attended Tomato Day for the past eight years. Ayano said her favorite part about the market is how excited everyone gets about tomatoes. She said one of her favorites is the Cherokee Purple, but that they both enjoy discovering new kinds too.

“There was one that was a bluish called Dancing with Smurfs,” Eri said about a dark-purple and red cherry tomato that she saw.

They arrived at the market in matching tomato hats, which Ayano crocheted. Most of those in attendance sported their best tomato accessories, like earrings, bags and CFM shirts from previous Tomato Days. 

Sherer explained that Tomato Day is busier than a typical Saturday at the market, and she said it’s a fun way to get to know and support local farmers.

Graham Family Farm sells at the market every Saturday, and Patricia Graham said the farm has been involved with Tomato Day since its start. She said her favorite part about the celebration is how it brings new faces to the market.

“Everyone's so friendly and excited that it's Tomato Day,” she said. “And everybody asks a lot of questions, not just about tomatoes, but other things you're growing, and you just get to know the customers a little bit better and sometimes make some new ones.”

At the festival, she sold Washington Cherries, which she said are the typical, smaller red tomatoes, as well as Sun Golds, a type of cherry tomato that she said is everyone’s favorite. 

The Carrboro Farmers Market's next event is National Farmers Market Week on Aug. 4-10, highlighting the market’s history and continuing to honor its local farmers.  

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com