| 689 | Tomato Art - 2012 | 2012-08-13 |
Saturday was the Tomato Art Festival in East Nashville. I had never been to the Festival before, so I accepted an invite from our friends, Jon and Laura. Jon and I were going to ride our bikes to the event.
The plan was to meet at the house of some friends, that live close to the Festival area. Jon and I were slow getting started, but I finally decided which bike to ride, prepped it, and we got underway. For the first time since we had been home for the Rockies, the weather was cool. We had a great ride as we left the Hillsboro Village Area and rode down 16th Street (Music Row) to the Round-a-bout. Turning on Demonbreun, we made cruised to the River and crossed the Korean Vets Bridge and on to East Nashville. Oddly enough, there was no traffic. It was almost eerie. No one was on the road. Riding down 16th - usually a very busy street, we did not see any vehicles (moving). Huh, maybe everyone was across the River at the Tomato Fest.
Once assembled, we left for the Festival, six or so blocks away. We rode our bikes again. Robin, our host, rode with us. As we neared the Five Points Area (Tomato Central) we joined the masses strolling the streets. Having a bike was almost inconvenient. You could not ride, the streets were too crowded and likewise it was difficult to even push the bike.
Though we missed the famous parade, we were able to hear the New Orleans style parade band at the band stand. The Tuba and other Horns let you know it was Tomato Time in East Nashville. We were also able to see many of the costumed attendees as they continued to parade the streets.
There were activities and bands scheduled throughout the day. I cut my visit short and returned home after an hour or so.
A few Festival notes ...
The entertainment line-up looked great. In fact it was odd that the music venue was so small - literally a lot.
Many of the businesses had Tomato Events - Ugliest Tomato, Bobbing for Tomatoes, etc
It was an Art Festival, so there was a lot of art. Vendors set up on the streets to sell their wares, both art and crafts. It was similar to the art and craft festivals held at Centennial Park.
There were also many food and drink vendors.
The Festival was a good family event. Lots of children were present enjoying the morning activities.
There were also quite a few dogs touring the event. Some were dressed in costumes. I felt sorry for them.
One of my friends noted that they did not seem to have enough Porty-Potties (Privies) and the ones they had were on the outskirts of the Festival Area.
I would probably leave my bike parked on the fringes of the area. It was too crowded to ride or push the bike.
So I doubt that I would ever dress up in a tomato head, but I did feel festive. In fact I felt so festive, that I rode home and ate a big tomato sandwich for lunch.
Happy tomato trails