85th Tomato Festival is This Weekend

Mark your calendar for the 85th Annual Ellinger Chamber of Commerce Tomato Festival planned for Friday, May 27 – Sunday, May 29.

For all you great cooks out there, the festival kicksoff Friday night with Chef’s Choice Competitions. Categories include Entrée, Dessert, Chips and Salsa, and Margaritas. Enjoy live music from 8 – 11 p.m. by The Lederhosen Junkies. For early risers, the fun continues Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. with the New Tomato Trot 5K run. Cooking continues with Farmer’s Breakfast and Bloody Mary competitions. BBQ teams from near and far will compete all day in brisket, chicken, pork spare rib, pork butt, and pinto bean cookoffs. The fan favorite Chopped Challenge with secret ingredients and local celebrity judges returns for its second year. Do you have what it takes to create a delicious meal with secret ingredients, while the clock counts down? Sign-up soon for this exciting event. If cooking is not your thing, come to cheer on your favorite team in the live Final Showdown under the ECC pavilion, where the Ellinger Pantry will be fully stocked just like on TV.

Following the awards ceremony, stick around for the live auction, followed by live music by The Bandits. Iced cold beverages will be available Friday and Saturday. Sunday wraps up the Tomato Festival with ECC President, Michael Schlabach saying, “Come hungry for our famous Chamber fried chicken and sausage drive-thru dinner.” Serving begins at 10:30 a.m. Plates are $12. Raffle tickets with 50 great prizes are available for $20 or 3 for $50.

Visit www.ellingertexas.com for details on all the fun and to register for any of the food competitions.