Are your tomatoes ripe yet? Are you a competitor in the biggest or first tomato competition at work or in the neighborhood? Or do you take it a step higher – playing the “my heirlooms are better, tastier, rarer or take-more-special-care than yours?” 

This weekend, you can get a look at the competition – and a taste -- at the historic Glen Ella Springs Inn and Meeting Place in Clarkesville when you attend the 8^th Annual Heirloom Tomato Festival.

Locally grown heirloom varieties will be spread out so you can learn about them and choose that singular tomato that will turn your neighbors tomato-green with envy. There will also be pottery, jewelry and other crafts for sale, art demonstrations and live music from 11:30 to 3. There is a $5 admission to enter the festival and advance ticket purchase is suggested. If you’re interested in getting in on the Twilight Sunday Supper buffet served in the pavilion at 6, you’ll definitely need advanced tickets. The buffet is $37.50 per person and Lisa Deaton will provide entertainment. Lisa plays a number of venues in this part of North Georgia and is a terrific singer.

The Glen Ella Springs Inn is over a hundred years old. It was one of those lavish resorts that 1900s-era Atlantans took the Tallulah Falls Railroad to in order to escape summer heat and mosquitoes. It now has 16 beautifully decorated guestrooms (each with a bathroom) and has received a number of awards, including a 2011 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, a 2010 Fodor’s ChoiceAward and was selected by the national Geographic Traveler Magazine’s editors as “One of 150 Unique Destination Properties in North America” and one of Georgia’s Top Dining Destinations by Georgia Trend Magazine. It’s located about 90 miles north of Atlanta in Clarkesville.