Ah, the Tomatopalooza conundrum. It's a complicated situation - because, because because...
Tomato supply. Tomatopalooza originated as a way of my seedling customers, many of them unfamiliar with many of the varieties I carried, to pool their harvests, taste and learn. Over the years, even though more and more people attend, fewer and fewer of them bring tomatoes. Last year I supplied greater than 50% of the varieties - way too much risk on a single source.
Timing - related to tomato supply, probably, at least in part....when to have it with this crazy weather?
Organization - as the event has gotten larger, it has gotten more complex....but we don't have dedicated people who do this sort of thing or have time outside of life's other responsibilities. My stepping away from it is simply because I don't have the time. My daughter Sara did a lot with it last year, but she is soon to be moving to Seattle for a new job. Most of the other folks involved have families/children, jobs, etc. With an event that has grown to well over a hundred people, it isn't as simple as picking a date, showing up and tasting tomatoes.
And so......we are mulling options, but I do not wish to drive decisions - only put in my two cents worth. And since we've had ten nice events, if we do end up taking a year off, I am fine with that too.
So it has to get...smaller, or larger, or better organized, or more ad hoc. But what it can't do is stay the same, because that won't work any more, in my view.
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Craig
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