Organizers of this weekend's Kamloops Tomato Festival are expecting another capacity crowd as they celebrate the city's long love affair with the fruit.
"We've had a lot of good feedback from people as we've been putting our information out there," said event spokeswoman Margaret Kerr.
"I think we'll get quite a few people."
The festival takes place on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon, at the Kamloops Farmers Market.
A fundraiser for the TRU Friends of the Garden, the event is a throwback to the days when Kamloops had several tomato farms and a thriving cannery and ketchup industry.
Around 60 varieties of tomatoes will be on display.
Tomato experts from the Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners will also be on hand to answer gardening questions, along with canning experts who will offer advice about what to do with surplus tomatoes.
Participants can also taste the varieties on display for a donation of $2.
For an additional $1 to $2 donation, they can also sample tomato recipes from six restaurants.
Last year, the event went through the entire supply of 3,500 taster cups as visitors sampled the multiple varieties. This time, the event is stocking 5,000 cups in preparation.
For those with a competitive spirit, there will be prizes for the "biggest", "most bizarre," "most perfect," "most colourful" and "most fruit per stem." Competitors enter by filling out a form by 10 a.m. on Saturday and prizes will be awarded at 11:30 a.m.
Bob Prachnao, tomato, pepper and cucumber vendor at the Farmers Market is vying for prize for most bizarre, given the "rogue" tomato that suddenly appeared in his Pinantan greenhouse this past spring.
Kerr said visitors can expect to see many unique varieties on display.
