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Our view: Philharmonic is certainly worth saving

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Their view: Ignorance more dangerous than pit bulls

<p>PITTSTON &#8212; It&#8217;s tomato time!</p><p>The 34th annual Pittston Tomato Festival officially opens at 5 p.m. Thursday and runs through Sunday.</p><p>The festival has become such a huge draw and so well-known, the governor will take part in Saturday&#8217;s parade.</p><p>Organizers say more than 50,000 usually attend over the four days, but they are always hoping for more.</p><p>&#8220;We would love to see new faces come to the festival and people who haven&#8217;t come in a long time to reconnect to the festival,&#8221; said Lori Nocito, chair of the festival committee.</p><p>Things kick off with a 6 p.m. Thursday opening ceremony at the city&#8217;s bandstand in the Lower Tomato Festival Lot.</p><p>There will be plenty of food and live entertainment the first two days &#8212; and of course, home-grown Pittston tomatoes &#8212; but Saturday is when the real fun starts.</p><p>The 5K Race and Fun Walk will begin at 10 a.m., covering downtown streets. Registration for the 19th annual Miles for Michael/Pittston Tomato Festival 5K is set for 8:30 a.m. at the Greater Pittston YMCA. The awards ceremony will follow the race at 11:30.</p><p>Meanwhile, the parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday from South Main Street and will swing around to Kennedy Boulevard. The parade starts at the A-Plus Mini Mart, continues on South Main and down Kennedy Boulevard, ending at the Cooper&#8217;s Co-op building.</p><p>This year&#8217;s grand marshals are Jimmy Cefalo, a Pittston native who made it to the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, and none other than Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.</p><p>Saturday also features the Tomato Festival Queen Scholarship Pageant from 1 to 2 p.m.</p><p>If that isn&#8217;t enough for you, the famous tomato fights start at 1:30 in the Cooper&#8217;s Seafood parking lot. Hundreds of willing &#8212; and unwilling &#8212; participants will line up on either side of the lot and bombard each other with tomatoes.</p><p>If you&#8217;re looking for a less-messy good time, a tomato contest begins at 7 p.m. Saturday in the committee building. Judges will be looking for the largest, smallest, ugliest and most perfect tomatoes.</p><p>Sunday starts with the Little Miss and Little Mister Tomato Contest from 10:45 a.m. to noon. The festival will close at 10 p.m. Sunday.</p><p>Visitors can also participate in the Sauce Wars again this year by paying $2 to sample marinara sauce from local restaurants and then cast their vote for the best sauce.</p><p>Last year&#8217;s champion was CrisNics, of Wilkes-Barre, and the eatery is one of the competitors vying for the sauce crown again this year.</p><p>The booth for the taste test will be located next to the festival committee stand and will be open every day.</p><p>Proceeds from the Sauce Wars will benefit the Greater Pittston Historical Society.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mary Ann Reggie and granddaughter Giada, Hazleton, pose with the Tomato Festival mascot at last year&#8217;s 33rd annual Pittston Tomato Festival. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TOmatoFest2.CMYK_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mary Ann Reggie and granddaughter Giada, Hazleton, pose with the Tomato Festival mascot at last year&#8217;s 33rd annual Pittston Tomato Festival. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader File Photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jimmy Fisher</p><p>jfisher@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>OPENING CEREMONY</strong></p><p><strong>When:</strong> 6 p.m. Thursday</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Lower Tomato Festival Lot, South Main Street, Pittston</p><p><strong>What:</strong> The Pittston Tomato Festival will kick off its 34th event with opening remarks from Tomato Festival Commitee members, a welcoming by Mayor Jason Klush, and live entertainment.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jimmy Fisher at 570-704-3972 or on Twitter @SD_JimmyFisher</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pittston Tomato Festival set to kick off four-day event Thursday