PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The 42nd annual Pittston Tomato Festival is officially underway!
Organizers were setting up for the Pittston Tomato Festival on Thursday morning as the festival celebrates its 42nd year.
"42 years, that's a big number, and we've got our binoculars set low and we're looking at 50," said Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo.
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People from all over come to the festival to enjoy the food, live entertainment, a parade, a 5K run, and of course, tomatoes grown right here in Pittston.
But, how did the city become so synonymous with tomatoes?
"A lot of people through the decades have had backyard gardens, and the assertion in the northeast has always been, and it was proven actually in a study at Penn State, that because of the soil, the differences because of the anthracite coal mining, the acidity is different here in the northeast. So, they actually identified four indigenous strains to northeast PA," explained Mayor Lombardo.
Mayor Lombardo says the city is all-hands-on-deck, "I'm excited. As you can see, we're pretty well set up. I think, not to jinx us, but this is the most advanced we've been in as long as I can remember. It looks like all of the vendors are ready to go, just putting some finishing touches on getting the sound system up, and we're ready to rock and roll for the next four days."
Paul Anzalone drove five hours from Merrimack, New Hampshire to attend, wearing a shirt to represent his Sicilian pride.
When asked what part of the festival he was most excited about, Anzalone answered, "Trying all of the new things to find out what it's all about. This is my first time here, and I want to see what it's all about, and happy to eat all the good food, you know."
Vendors say a lot goes into getting ready for the festival, and they're excited to be part of it again this year.
"Takes a, take a solid couple weeks here to prep all of your equipment, make sure everything is running efficiently. Get all of your orders together, you know. We've got a food tent, we've got tomato pie. We got fresh tomato slider sandwiches. We got marinated eggplant," Pat Padula, co-owner of Carmella's, explained.
The Pittston Tomato Festival starts Thursday and runs through this Sunday, August 24, at 8 p.m.
