Pittston City Hall

The 28th annual Pittston Tomato Festival will grace the pages of this week’s nationally published Parade Magazine, an insert in the Sunday Times Leader, in the feature story “Eat Your Way Across America, 50 States, 50 Fabulous Food Festivals.”

“The tomato fight caught our eye,” said Daryl Chen, features editor of Parade Magazine. “It was also great that the money for the event goes toward a good cause.”
Chen said that she and other editors were looking for events that have not occurred yet this year so the readers would have a chance to attend the festivals without waiting for the following year. Other criteria were that the food items were synonymous with the area of the event and that the event is well established and ongoing.
“Part of what we were trying to do is also to start a conversation with our readers,” said Chen. “We wanted to know which ones (festivals) people were passionate about. We were looking for interesting events.”

Festival Chairwoman Lori Nocito, who has been involved with the festival for the past 14 years, is humbled by the thought that the local event, which she admits is a “labor of love,” will be reaching a large audience.

“I think people really enjoy small-town festivals, but the quality in food and the events and entertainment is what draws them. We hope this proud tradition continues and attracts more people so they can enjoy. The entire committee is so dedicated.”

Nocito said this isn’t the first time the festival has made national news.

“Two years ago, the Washington Post did a full page story on the festival. People read it in the Post and wanted to come up to the festival. It’s nice when that happens, when we see our friends and neighbors, but it’s also nice to see out-of-towners.”