The Tomato: A Uniter Not A Divider. Bringing Together Fruits + Vegetables August 9 & 10 at Five Points, East Nashville
What
Tomato Art Fest
When
Friday, August 9, 2024, 5pm - 10pm
Saturday, August 10, 2024, 9am - 7pm
Where
Five Points, East Nashville
Events
Tomato Art
Events & Contests
Parade
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Merch
Tomato Art Fest is FREE to attend and welcoming to all, with a few featured events that are ticketed.
It started, not exactly as a joke, but on a whim. In 2004, some East Nashville residents, including then-gallery owners Meg and Bret MacFadyen, thought it would be fun to have a neighborhood art festival. Tomatoes are always in abundance in August, growing under the hot southern sun. The message that tomatoes are uniters—linking both vegetables and fruits—spoke to a desire to create an event to bring the quirky neighborhood together.
More than two decades later, the Tomato Art Festival has become a must-visit, two-day event. Yes, it is still quirky (almost everything in East Nashville is) and it has grown considerably. In 2017, attendees broke the world record for the most people dressed in fruit and vegetable costumes. Now, more than 65,000 people show up to hear live music, walk in the parades, make floats, eat, drink, shop and more.
This year’s festivities take place August 9, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and August 10, 9 a.m.- 7 p.m. Saturday’s Pull, Push and Wear Parade is the highlight. You can dress like a tomato (or merely in red) and march along, or line the parade route and cheer on those with their hand-made decorated “floats.” There’s a costume contest, home-decorating contests, recipe contests, art shows for adults and kids, cornhole tournaments and a redhead competition (both natural reds and dyed manes are accepted). It’s hard to explain just how all-encompassing this event is for the neighborhood. Even some of the streets are painted red! You’ll see tomato murals on fences and tomato dishes on area menus.
Most of the events are free, but some of the parties, like the art preview, are ticketed. Kids’ events, including an art contest, themed crafts, story time and a musical petting zoo, are part of the fun.
The Tomato Art Festival takes place in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood (near 1006 Woodland St). Due to the heat and the crowds, pets (with the exception of service animals) are not permitted. Summer in the South is no joke: dress appropriately. Parking can be at a premium due to the crowds. The 56 bus runs from downtown (about two blocks from Bobby Nashville) to East Nashville every 20 minutes.
