Tomato Fest first one since closure of Heinz Plant

The Leamington Tomato Festival is held at Seacliff Park on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (Jason Viau/CTV Windsor)

The Leamington Sunset Tomato Festival this past weekend was the first one since the closure of the Heinz plant at the end of July.

Heinz was the town's largest employer and the last shift at the plant was on June 26.

Organizers say with Heinz pulling out as main sponsor and Sunset Produce stepping in, the focus has shifted to being a festival of the greenhouse industry.

Sunset is a commercial greenhouse company with a plant in Kingsville. They've signed a five-year deal to keep Leamington's festival going.

Next year organizers hope to add a tomato fight to the festivities, pending insurance approval.

Even though Heinz left the tomato town, organizers say spirits have been high at this year's festival.

“I think the mood is good, the community is strong. We’ve got a very strong sense of who we are in Leamington. We are very proud of what we have and again we've just taken it upon ourselves to get another sponsor that's somewhat in our industry and continue the festival because it is the Tomato Festival," says co-chairperson of the event, Mike Ciacelli,

The Lakeshore Horse Racing Group was on had at the festival to remind the crowds that harness racing will return to Leamington in just a few weeks.

The first race is Sept. 7 at the fairgrounds.