Nature Sweet tomato festival/contest, Arvada, CO

JohnnyRock · June 18, 2010

Hi all,
A while back I inquired about tomato festivals around Colorado. I now have confirmation of the Nature Sweet tomato festival/event in Arvada, CO on Sat Aug 28. TWO Grand prizes of $2500 each! Four runner's up will get $250 gift cards! WOW! Plus a cooking contest with big prizes! Further details below (information based on an email from Nature Sweet in response to my query for information):
***
Here are some details about our 2010 Home Grown Challenge:

ARVADA, CO contest Saturday, August 28
King Soopers(r) store at 15200 W. 64th Avenue

CONTEST DETAILS
Two grand prize winners will walk away with $2500 each for the best tomato (based on results from a brix test and taste test) in both the small and large categories, while four runners-up will each receive $250 in King Soopers Gift Cards.

New to the event this year, a cherry tomato cooking competition will give amateur chefs a chance to show off their culinary skills in front of the crowd in a secret ingredient cook-off. Three finalists will be pre-selected to compete in the cook-off. The grand prize winner will receive $2500 and two runners up will each receive $250 in King Soopers gift cards.

Homegrown tomato entries will be accepted from 9 - 11 a.m. on the day of the contest. There is no pre registration for tomato entries. Entrants must bring either three (3) large or ten (10) small tomatoes to enter one of the categories. Only one entry per household. The contest is NOT open to commercial growers.

To enter the tomato cooking competition, contestants must complete the essay portion on the Homegrown Tomato Challenge page on Facebook sometime between midnight on July 5, 2010 and 11:59 p.m. on August 6, 2010. Three finalists will be chosen and contacted by NatureSweet a week before each event to let them know they are to show up at the event ready to prepare a tomato recipe using a bag of "secret ingredients".

For more information, find us on Facebook/Homegrown Tomato Challenge. Removed dead link - M
***
Hope to see lots of folks from Tomatoville there!
JR

JohnnyRock · June 18, 2010

Apologies, I misspelled the name of the town in the title of my post. It should be Arvada.

John

Fixed - M.

JohnnyRock · August 29, 2010

Hi,
As a followup, I went to the Naturesweet tomato contest, and it was a pretty big turnout with well over 100 entries. However, I was disappointed that there was no tasting allowed by anyone other than the three judges, and even they only got to try the 3 sweetest varieties, as determined by a brix tester. All of the extras were donated to a good cause which I fully support, but I was sure hoping to do some tasting (and gather some seeds). I think we should organize an independent tomato festival around Boulder/Denver for next year.

beefyboy · August 30, 2010

so which three tomatoes were the sweetest?

JohnnyRock · August 31, 2010

The press release is here http://www.naturesweettomatoes.com/i...essRelease.pdf

The grand prize large variety was Super Fantastic, and the two runners up were both Rowdy Red. The grand prize small variety was Sun Gold, and the runners up were 'Cherry' and Sun Gold.

guruofgardens · October 10, 2013

Thanks for the 2010 results. Does anyone know the winners from 2011 to this year?

guruofgardens · February 25, 2014

I wrote to Nature Sweet and asked which tomatoes won the Arvada, CO contest for 2013. Big Boy won the large size. Runners Up were Pink Lady and Rowdy Red.

For the small tomato, Sun Gold won first place. Runners Up were Golden Sweet and Super Sweet Tomato Candy.

June 18, 2010	#1
JohnnyRock Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 71	Nature Sweet tomato festival/contest, Arvada, CO Hi all, A while back I inquired about tomato festivals around Colorado. I now have confirmation of the Nature Sweet tomato festival/event in Arvada, CO on Sat Aug 28. TWO Grand prizes of $2500 each! Four runner's up will get $250 gift cards! WOW! Plus a cooking contest with big prizes! Further details below (information based on an email from Nature Sweet in response to my query for information): * Here are some details about our 2010 Home Grown Challenge: ARVADA, CO contest Saturday, August 28 King Soopers(r) store at 15200 W. 64th Avenue CONTEST DETAILS Two grand prize winners will walk away with $2500 each for the best tomato (based on results from a brix test and taste test) in both the small and large categories, while four runners-up will each receive $250 in King Soopers Gift Cards. New to the event this year, a cherry tomato cooking competition will give amateur chefs a chance to show off their culinary skills in front of the crowd in a secret ingredient cook-off. Three finalists will be pre-selected to compete in the cook-off. The grand prize winner will receive $2500 and two runners up will each receive $250 in King Soopers gift cards. Homegrown tomato entries will be accepted from 9 - 11 a.m. on the day of the contest. There is no pre registration for tomato entries. Entrants must bring either three (3) large or ten (10) small tomatoes to enter one of the categories. Only one entry per household. The contest is NOT open to commercial growers. To enter the tomato cooking competition, contestants must complete the essay portion on the Homegrown Tomato Challenge page on Facebook sometime between midnight on July 5, 2010 and 11:59 p.m. on August 6, 2010. Three finalists will be chosen and contacted by NatureSweet a week before each event to let them know they are to show up at the event ready to prepare a tomato recipe using a bag of "secret ingredients". For more information, find us on Facebook/Homegrown Tomato Challenge. Removed dead link - M * Hope to see lots of folks from Tomatoville there! JR

August 29, 2010	#3
JohnnyRock Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 71	Hi, As a followup, I went to the Naturesweet tomato contest, and it was a pretty big turnout with well over 100 entries. However, I was disappointed that there was no tasting allowed by anyone other than the three judges, and even they only got to try the 3 sweetest varieties, as determined by a brix tester. All of the extras were donated to a good cause which I fully support, but I was sure hoping to do some tasting (and gather some seeds). I think we should organize an independent tomato festival around Boulder/Denver for next year.

August 30, 2010	#4
beefyboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pt. Charlotte fl Posts: 330	so which three tomatoes were the sweetest?

August 31, 2010	#5
JohnnyRock Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 71	The press release is here http://www.naturesweettomatoes.com/i...essRelease.pdf The grand prize large variety was Super Fantastic, and the two runners up were both Rowdy Red. The grand prize small variety was Sun Gold, and the runners up were 'Cherry' and Sun Gold.

October 10, 2013	#6
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	Thanks for the 2010 results. Does anyone know the winners from 2011 to this year?

February 25, 2014	#7
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	I wrote to Nature Sweet and asked which tomatoes won the Arvada, CO contest for 2013. Big Boy won the large size. Runners Up were Pink Lady and Rowdy Red. For the small tomato, Sun Gold won first place. Runners Up were Golden Sweet and Super Sweet Tomato Candy.