Tomato Festival draws families from across SE Georgia for produce, contests, and music

BROOKLET, Ga. (WTOC) - Hundreds of people attended the town’s First Annual Tomato Festival Saturday at Strickland Farms.

The all-day event drew families from across Southeast Georgia for live music, food trucks, and fresh produce under the shade of pecan trees.

A tomato contest judged by local celebrities featured prizes for the biggest, best tasting, ugliest, and overall best tomato.

The festival marked the grand opening of Strickland Farms’ Pick Your Own Produce Fields and the kickoff of the Watersville Station Farmers Market season.

“Believe I could say it was a tremendous success. We had a huge crowd. We had wonderful weather and plenty of tomatoes, plenty of other vegetables for people to pick, and I think we had a lot of happy people leave here,” Lloyd Strickland, owner of Strickland Farms, said.

Organizers hope to make the festival an annual tradition, bringing the community together each summer to celebrate local agriculture and South Georgia’s farming roots.