Central California Tomato Festivals in 2024: Where, When and More to Find a Tomato Festival Near You!

Looking for a Tomato festival in December 2024? There is no other listing as complete and current as this list, just updated! Tomato festivals are held through the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia and much of the world. All the Tomato festivals we can find are listed on this page! If you love tomatoes, look for a festival near you below! And I'm looking for more Tomato festivals! Please write me, if you know of any to add!  I update the dates as soon as the festivals publish their information, but you can always click on the links (usually the name of the festival) to see the current information on the festival's own website. 

Especially this year, due to Coronavirus, be sure to click on the links (the blue, underlined name of the each festival) to confirm this year's dates on the website for each festival. If they don't have a website, call the phone number provided, but ALWAYS CONFIRM THIS YEAR'S DATES AND TIMES BY EITHER VIEWING THEIR WEBSITE OR CALLING.

Click here for the form to add a festival and have detailed information; or click here if you have general information and are not connected with the event!

Central California 2024Tomato Festivals Festivals - Where, When and More Details!

Central California

Tomatoes are a warm and hot weather crop, and typically are locally harvested from, July to October. There are two general types of Tomato festivals 1) community festivals, usually organized by a church, school, local Chamber of commerce or a town and 2). Tomato festival held at and by a farm

They are different in what they offer, so they are grouped separately. (of course not all states and areas have both. And following the festival listings are links to our easy to follow directions about making Tomato jam, freezing Tomatoes, Tomato pies and much more. 

Community Tomato Festivals

Amador County

• Amador City Tomato Festival - early September, Noon - 4 p.m.
  Feist Wines, 14173 Old Highway 49, Amador City, CA 95601. Phone: (209) 267-8020. Local Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, .Taste organic, heirloom tomatoes from the Feist family garden.Tomato inspired lunch - Live Americana music, Barrel Samples! Alos see the Feist webbsite.

Monterey County

• Gary Inbsen's Tomatofest (aka the Carmel TomatoFest) - September - see their website for this year's dates.
  Carmel, CA. The 17th annual NatureSweet Carmel TomatoFestⓇ, "America's Favorite Tomato Harvest Festival", will be held at 12:30 pm, Sunday, September 14, 2008 at the spectacular countryside setting of Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel, California. What started out 17 years ago as a small get together for my family and a few chef friends, as a 'backyard' tomato tasting event to celebrate my tomato harvest, has grown into an annual fundraiser that attracts chefs, wineries, tomato growers and 3000 tomato lovers from across the United States and other nations.  They offer a display of more than 350 heirloom tomato varieties from around the world for the tasting; tomato dishes created by 60 of America's top chefs; a tasting of more than 100 premium wines; an amazing "Salsa Showcase" tasting of 100, commercially available, tomato salsas; an old-fashioned country BBQ; an "International Olive Oil Tasting;" celebrity chef and gardening demonstrations; a tasting of great tomato-related specialty foods; sales of hard-to-find fresh heirloom tomatoes and heirloom tomato seeds; live music and dancing under Carmel Valley's oak covered hillsides. Check out these photos of the Carmel TomatoFestⓇ. Ticket price includes all foods, wines and activities. Children under 12, with parent, are admitted free. Ticket prices for 2008 range from $85 to $175 per person. Come bring the whole family! We have delights for the kids too. Net proceeds benefit youth charities.

Merced County

• Los Banos Tomato Festival - October, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  403 F Street, Los Banos, CA 93635. Phone: 209-826-2495. Alternate Phone: 209-704-4384. Fax: 209-826-9689. Email: lbpub@earthlink.net. Open: One day in early October  9 am to 7 pm. Directions: Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard. Click here for our Facebook page. Tomatoes, produce for sale, parking provide free, snacks and refreshment stand, musical entertainment, cooking or fruit/veg judging, restrooms, face painting, There is an admission fee. We will be offering Celebrity Chefs (Ryan Scott from Top Chef and Lou Petrozza from Hell's Kitchen), heritage cooking demonstrations using tomatoes, vendors, entertainment, Tomato Patch kids area, Tomato Alley (food vendors), ag displays showing the importance of tomatoes to our area and Health and Wellness Building promoting the health benefits of tomatoes. Admission is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children and seniors (60 and over). Open 9 am to 7 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Farm Tomato Festivals

In addition to community and church festivals, some private farms have their own tomato festivals in June.  See each farm for this year's dates (they often do not announce them until the end of May). They usually have PYO Tomatoes then, too.  Also, scroll down to see the links to recipes, freezing, canning and jam making directions at the bottom of the page.

• We will be adding these as we find them;  Please write me, if you know of any to add!

 

Related Tomato Information: Freezing, making Jam, Canning Pies, Recipes and More

Also, see our pages on easy illustrated Tomato directions:

Canning tomatoes (in water bath canners )

• How to can tomatoes using a water bath canner - W
• Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
• Tomato sauce - W
• Tomato paste - W
• Barbecue sauce (BBQ sauce) - W
• Chili sauce from your own tomatoes and peppers - W
• Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
• Tomato Preserves- W
• Tomato salsa - W
• Spaghetti sauce - without meat - W, P
• Spiced Green tomatoes- W
• Pickled Green Tomatoes - W - another pickled green tomato recipe, this one sweet
• Ketchup.. or if you prefer... How to make catsup - W, P
• NEW! SUPER-EASY homemade ketchup recipe
• Salsa from your unripe, GREEN tomatoes! - W
• Tomatillo salsa - W
• How to make roasted tomatoes, boiling water bath canner version - W

Canning Tomatoes in Pressure canners

• Canned tomatoes using a Pressure Canner - P
• NEW!Baked  Beans With Tomato or Molasses Sauce - P
• Canning your own chili con carne (with meat) - P
• How to make roasted tomatoes, pressure canner version - P
• Spaghetti sauce - with meat  - P
• Stewed tomatoes - P
• Tomato soup or tomato-basil soup - P
• Tomato sauce - P
• Tomato juice - P
• Tomato juice, like V8 - P

Freezing Tomatoes

• How to freeze tomatoes from you garden or the farm; for that fresh taste this winter!

For other fruit and vegetable festivals, see this page!