El 7 Set in english by Brenda Cundell
The 7th “Hanging Tomato” Fair took place in Alcala de Xivert
During the weekend of 12th and 13th October, there were locally grown products and crafts and also the Hanging Tomato Gastronomy Days, competitions, show cooking demonstrations, tastings and activities to make people environmentally aware
![[Img #75339]](http://el7set.es/upload/images/10_2019/1272_6305_1310-tomata-penjar.jpg)
The 7th Hanging Tomato Fair was opened in Alcala de Xivert on Saturday morning. This has become a reference event in the province with regard to fairs dedicated to craft and agricultural products. The great protagonist is the Alcala hanging tomato, recognised with the Valencian Community Quality Mark and as a participant in the Castellón Flavour Route, and these could be purchased directly from the producers during the fair. In addition, the exhibitors’ stands had a varied offer of craft products and nearby local businesses, traditional trades and groups from the municipality.
The fair was opened by the festeras and authorities among whom, this year, there were representatives from the French town of Forcalquier, twinned with Alcala de Xivert. The Mayor Francisco Juan pointed out that “thanks to the efforts of the producers, commercial businesses and the institutions, the hanging tomato is becoming more well-known and more are being eaten and credit must go to our producers and businesses who work hard and well to open the market for the Alcala hanging tomato and have awoken interest in all those who visited us this weekend.
Finally, as part of the fair there was the Gastronomic Space where there were show-cookings and gastronomic demonstrations, presented by experts and chefs. Also, visitors to the fair were able to learn about Alcala’s local heritage, with visits to the church of St. John the Baptist and the bell tower and exhibitions in the Casa Abadía, arranged by the Associació Lo Bonsai Gaspatxer, and in the Casa de Cultura, arranged by the Amics de Mainhardt. New this year were competitions for throwing olive stones and for alioli - which took place on Sunday. There were also activities dedicated to the awareness of caring for the environment, with the “Buscamarrons” stand on selective recycling of organic material and the “The plastic is not fantastic” workshop.
Besides the appreciated hanging tomato, it was possible to buy other local products like oil, wine, cheeses and traditional bread and cakes, plus a varied offer from the local businesses and associations.
The olive stone throwing and allioli competitions, new this year, generated a lot of interest filling the Church square with crowds. As in previous years, there were showcookings, in the Gastronomic Space, and 13 restaurants and bars in Alcala and Alcossebre offered themed menus with the hanging tomato, which meant that they attracted a large number of customers throughout the weekend. In many cases, these restaurants will continue offering the menus based on the hanging tomato until the end of October.
There were record sales for local producers of hanging tomatoes and crowds enjoyed the success of the novelties such as the allioli competition.
With an estimated 5,500 kilos of hanging tomatoes purchased by the visitors to the stalls at the fair. Culture councillor, María Agut, said that “we are satisfied because, once again, we have achieved an increase in the amount of tomatoes sold which shows that this product is given more worth each year and many people visited the fair because they knew they could buy local products direct”.
The 7th Hanging Tomato Fair was opened in Alcala de Xivert on Saturday morning. This has become a reference event in the province with regard to fairs dedicated to craft and agricultural products. The great protagonist is the Alcala hanging tomato, recognised with the Valencian Community Quality Mark and as a participant in the Castellón Flavour Route, and these could be purchased directly from the producers during the fair. In addition, the exhibitors’ stands had a varied offer of craft products and nearby local businesses, traditional trades and groups from the municipality.
The fair was opened by the festeras and authorities among whom, this year, there were representatives from the French town of Forcalquier, twinned with Alcala de Xivert. The Mayor Francisco Juan pointed out that “thanks to the efforts of the producers, commercial businesses and the institutions, the hanging tomato is becoming more well-known and more are being eaten and credit must go to our producers and businesses who work hard and well to open the market for the Alcala hanging tomato and have awoken interest in all those who visited us this weekend.
Finally, as part of the fair there was the Gastronomic Space where there were show-cookings and gastronomic demonstrations, presented by experts and chefs. Also, visitors to the fair were able to learn about Alcala’s local heritage, with visits to the church of St. John the Baptist and the bell tower and exhibitions in the Casa Abadía, arranged by the Associació Lo Bonsai Gaspatxer, and in the Casa de Cultura, arranged by the Amics de Mainhardt. New this year were competitions for throwing olive stones and for alioli - which took place on Sunday. There were also activities dedicated to the awareness of caring for the environment, with the “Buscamarrons” stand on selective recycling of organic material and the “The plastic is not fantastic” workshop.
Besides the appreciated hanging tomato, it was possible to buy other local products like oil, wine, cheeses and traditional bread and cakes, plus a varied offer from the local businesses and associations.
The olive stone throwing and allioli competitions, new this year, generated a lot of interest filling the Church square with crowds. As in previous years, there were showcookings, in the Gastronomic Space, and 13 restaurants and bars in Alcala and Alcossebre offered themed menus with the hanging tomato, which meant that they attracted a large number of customers throughout the weekend. In many cases, these restaurants will continue offering the menus based on the hanging tomato until the end of October.
There were record sales for local producers of hanging tomatoes and crowds enjoyed the success of the novelties such as the allioli competition.
With an estimated 5,500 kilos of hanging tomatoes purchased by the visitors to the stalls at the fair. Culture councillor, María Agut, said that “we are satisfied because, once again, we have achieved an increase in the amount of tomatoes sold which shows that this product is given more worth each year and many people visited the fair because they knew they could buy local products direct”.
