Did you know there's a Tomato Fest in Fairmont that's been going on for nearly 20 years?



Neither did I. But once I found out, I needed to see it.



The 2026 Tomato Festival was Saturday, August 15, on Monroe Street in downtown Fairmont, as part of the Hometown Market. Main Street Fairmont puts it on in partnership with the Marion County Master Gardeners.



My first stop was at Loving WV, which is a wonderful little West Virginia goods shop.



Here, I picked up a bottle of Zhoni Sauce and jar of cherry-zucchini jam from Kat's Kitchen.



Outside, there were dozens of local vendors and artisans, with food and entertainment.



Bluebird Bakery



Richardson Family Farm



Mal's Produce



Kettle Pop Co.





WV Weird & Wonderful
I picked up the "Veggie Man" blend here, which includes dehydrated veggies.





Herron's Farmers' Market
Have you heard of quince butter? I hadn't, but I am going to find out!







Bricks and Slabs Bakehouse
A razzleberry pie and a smoked pepperoni roll were delish.







CL Cakery
A cinnamon roll-style pepperoni roll.







Rhodes Bakery
A tomato cupcake and a tomato basil croissant.





Tap Truck WVa
Vineyard Blush Special with tomato, strawberry and basil.







Gigi's Sweets and Treats
A brownie with peanut butter



Charmed & Wick'd Apothecary



My favorite part, though, was the tomato-tasting/competition, with local growers submitting tomatoes for judging. The competition has categories for things such as biggest, best-tasting and most unusual tomatoes. And it's free!

Summerfest is a four-day end-of-summer festival centered around the South Charleston Mound. The event is family-oriented with live music every night, local food vendors and a children’s zone. Food vendors they had available included: Off the Hook, Just Drinks, Charleston Police Auxilary, Holy O's, Zul's, SC Women's Club, Gettin Piggy With It and R&B Concessions. MAD Concessions was at the top of my list to check out. I went with one of their frozen mocktails because it was blazing hot this day, and that sounded super refreshing. I did the "Lava Flow," which was coconut and strawberry. I was thinking it would be lemonade, as I'm not the biggest coconut fan. But with the two flavors mixed together, it was just kinda like a whole new flavor that I enjoyed. Just around the corner was Wild 'N Wonderful Rolls. These pepperoni roll bosses make a mean pepperoni roll, amongst other rolls. And their most recent special caused quite the stir. The "Appalachian Aloha" has pineapple in it, and boy do people have opinions about that. I tried it, and I don't think it's bad. Would you try it?

The Ripley Community Market is a relatively new, producer-focused farmers/artisan market in Ripley, West Virginia, and it’s a little different from a traditional farmers market. The market was organized by Annette Bourgeois with a committee of local farmers, crafters and artisans. It launched in 2024 with the goal of creating something that was more than just a farmers market—hence the “community” in the name. The philosophy is pretty strongly producer-only: vendors are supposed to sell things they grow or make themselves, rather than purchased items for resale. Yard-sale/flea-market merchandise isn’t part of the concept. It’s regional rather than strictly Jackson County. The original market rules allowed producers who live within 50 miles of Ripley, keeping the market local while giving it a reasonably broad vendor pool. I started at Long Beard BBQ, which brought their smoker. I had pork belly bites, mac & cheese, smoked cabbage -- all with their own sweet and spicy BBQ. Not bad. I tossed the super fatty bits but did enjoy the meat with their own BBQ. I picked up two garlic butter bomb pepperoni rolls from Davis Farm, which were quite good. Other vendors who set up here include: Infused Dirty Drink Co., Jen Bakes, David’s Fresh Produce & More, Nichols Quality Meat, Blooming Blessings, Red Roof Acres, Hope Hill Family Farm, The Wellness Garden, Stirring Spirits, Cheryl's Plants & Vegetables, Haw Run Farm Stand & more. I also bought some tomatoes, but I didn't see the farm name. Have you been?