Have you ever tried a tomato popsicle? Or a tomato rendition of Okonomiyaki, a classic Japanese street dish? At the upcoming Killer Tomato Festival, you can.
This Sunday, July 30, is the 12th annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, a benefit hosted by Georgia Organics and held at the Westside Provisions District. The festival is a celebration of Georgia’s juicy red fruit (the team was sure to point out that tomatoes aren’t a vegetable) and local farmers who provide fresh produce around the state.
The festival was established as a fundraiser for Georgia Organics while also spotlighting a summer classic in the South. Georgia Organics is the oldest statewide nonprofit providing direct support to local and organic farmers.
The festival theme plays off the eccentric 1978 film “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” where a group of scientists works to save the world from mutant killer tomatoes. Events Manager Natasha Paracha describes this as a “quirky, campy and really playful” way to celebrate the farm-to-table movement.
“We have the opportunity to center Georgia Organics, our mission and how closely it lines up with the fundamentals of this festival — the connection between chefs, bartenders and growers,” Paracha said. “The connection between those different groups is something that we foster and embrace. The kitschy theme ties it all together.”
Director of Communications Mary Elizabeth Kidd added: “It’s very appropriately Atlanta.”
The festival will include a wide variety of food and drinks made from fresh tomatoes and every single tomato at the event will be locally sourced. The meals and cocktails will be prepared by local chefs like Chef Terry Koval from The Deer and The Dove, Chef Drew Van Leuvan with Farm Burger and Chef Jessica Luna from King of Pops. Some of the dishes will be more traditional, while others will incorporate tomatoes in unexpected ways.
“Hopefully this festival will also encourage the attendees to really think about the scope of what a tomato can be,” Farmer Champion Senior Coordinator Kayla Williams said. “It’s pushing the participants to get creative beyond what you would think you could do with a tomato.”
With an emphasis on fostering farmer prosperity, the Georgia Organics team helped connect growers with local food institutions for this event. Their goal is to help build relationships between folks who are working within the organic, local food space and ultimately create a more resilient in-state food movement.
The event will also feature a live auction, including a variety of chef-prepared meals and trips like an all-expenses paid five-day excursion to coffee harvests in Guatemala. The funds raised will be used to fuel Georgia Organics’ work in providing support, resources and networking opportunities for in-state farmers. The money will also help fund initiatives like the Farmer Accelerator Program, the Emergency Farmer Fund and the Family Farm Share Pilot.
Lastly, the Georgia Organics team will honor the winners of their 2023 Farmer Champion Awards. The awards program was created in 2019 to highlight folks in the food service industry who invest in Georgia’s “good food community,” as the team puts it.
“[We want] to share with the public about the amazing sourcing work that these folks do because a lot of them are humble and are like, ‘This is just what we do,’” Williams said. “So, we want to be the ones to toot their horn a little bit.”
Overall, the team hopes that folks come out to try some tomato-based food, learn more about the hard work of Georgia’s farmers and get involved with Georgia Organics.
“[We hope visitors] leave with this sense of their role in the local food movement and an understanding of what we do and how vital farmers are to our communities and to our environment,” Kidd said.
For more information about the upcoming Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, click here.
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