Tomatofare today at White Heron

TRINIDAD - Today will see the return of Tomatofare to White Heron Cellars. Heirloom tomatoes in all shapes, sizes, and colors will take center stage.

"Heirloom tomato growers of Grant County will bring and offer for tasting an amazing array of wildly colored and shaped tomatoes," White Heron proprietor Cameron Fries said.

Quantities of these same tomatoes will be available for purchase to take home. And the Sun Dial Bistro from Soap Lake and Tequila's from Ephrata will be here preparing dishes centered on tomatoes.

Tomatofare will go from 1-5 p.m. The price of admission will be $20 for tickets purchased ahead of time www.brownpapertickets.com/event/259978. They will be $25 at the door.

Admission will cover tomato sampling, wine sampling, and food from the two restaurants.  Admission also covers Central Washington songwriter Michael Carlos and his Latin rock big band.

"Seven years ago we set out to create a festival to promote heirloom tomatoes and Grant County. We have achieved what we set out to do, which is to involve local merchants to participate in the annual event," Tomatofare organizer Martin "Tomatohead" Ringhofer said.

"Over the years," he added, "we have grown and given to tomato lovers nearly 12,000 plants and over 85 different varieties. We now have well over 50 growers who grow up to 50,000 lbs of heirloom tomatoes."

Ringhofer's group is expanding the program in hopes of finding farmers to grow acres of heirloom tomatoes as a new crop for Grant County. It has more than 50,000 seeds to share with anyone who wants to grow these heirloom tomatoes.

Tomatofare is held here and in Seattle. Ringhofer is planning a third one in Soap Lake on Labor Day weekend.