Hedgesville resident Andrea Aberegg downs a chunk of tomato, as Master Gardener Linda Layne looks on at the 10th Annual Tomato Fest on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — A long line of tomato lovers and growers curved through the WVU Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research & Education Center on Saturday morning, eager to sample and vote on their favorites among 26 different tomato varieties at the 10th Annual Tomato Fest.

While now located in Kearneysville, Tomato Fest was founded by two Master Gardeners on a local farm and then moved to Morgan’s Grove Park, before outgrowing that space and moving to its current location, under the oversight of the Berkeley-Jefferson Extension Master Gardener Association. This year’s festival featured a number of tomato-related activities, including the tomato tasting table, a tomato and tomato sandwich sale, an advice booth manned by Extension Master Gardener Plant Doctors Virginia and Eldon Winston, booths for relevant educational nonprofits and a tomato cooking demonstration by Chef Miriam. Additionally, a variety of children’s activities took place, including tomato-themed craft projects, vegetable temporary tattoos and face painting.

For Harpers Ferry resident Emily Podolskiy, bringing her four children to the event was a way for them to celebrate the last weekend before the beginning of school.

“It looked like a fun thing for them to do before school starts. They all had a great time!” Podolskiy said, mentioning this was her family’s first time coming to the event. “At least two of them tried the tomatoes. They both said that the chocolate tomato was the best!”

This year’s festival was under new management, as one of its founders and longtime organizer, Mary Palmer, chose to step back and focus on running her favorite part of Tomato Fest — the tomato tasting table. Master Gardeners Susan Belmont and Tina Hanigan teamed up to organize this year’s event, though they still gave much of the credit to their success to Palmer.

Master Gardener Dianne Roman paints the face of three-year-old AJ Podolskiy at the 10th Annual Tomato Fest on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

“For the most part, it’s pretty self-running,” Hanigan said. “Mary Palmer is the CEO of Tomato Fest. She knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s got it organized!”

Outside of the tomato tasting, Belmont said one of the most popular activities at this year’s event was the plant doctor booth.

“There were a lot of people sitting down, asking questions and showing pictures of their plants, trying to analyze what had gone wrong. There were a number of questions about soil, as well,” Belmont said. “This has been a rush of people all day long! We’ve had a constant line of attendees from when we opened at 10 o’clock, on.”

Master Gardener Linda Layne spent her day cutting up and handing out samples of locally grown tomatoes to attendees at the tomato tasting table. For her, helping out with Tomato Fest and other Master Gardener activities has proven to be more than just a way to maintain her certification.

“Being a Master Gardener is a great way to meet people and share my love of flower gardening,” Layne said. “There’s a group of children at Shepherdstown Elementary School I do reading for, talking about flowers and pollination and growing things. We do a lot of community service at community gardens throughout Berkeley County and Jefferson County.”

Shenandoah Junction resident Paul Elliott, who has been a Master Gardener for three years, fills bags with fresh popcorn at the 10th Annual Tomato Fest on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

Five-year-old Levi Podolskiy tries out the different tomato samples at the 10th Annual Tomato Fest on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston