Heinz Closure Gives Tomato Fest A New Name

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Even thought Heinz in Leamington has closed, the annual Tomato Festival will go on.

Mastronardi’s Sunset brand has been chosen as the new sponsor of the annual festival, which will now called the Leamington Sunset Tomato Festival.

“The Heinz closure is obviously very hard for the community,” says Mike Ciacelli, Director of the Leamington Tomato Fest. “We wanted to make sure something as iconic as the Tomato Fest remained locally sponsored and locally run. Right now our community needs as much support as possible.”

Every summer, residents of Leamington and the surrounding area get together to celebrate the local tomato harvest by hosting live entertainment, a tomato stomp, and many family friendly activities.

“We’re very excited for the Leamington Sunset Tomato Fest,” continued Ciacelli. “We couldn’t have asked for a better sponsor. It’s been a tough year for everyone but having strong leaders in the community really pushes us forward.”

As a Leamington native, Sunset CEO Paul Mastronardi knows all too well how the Heinz closure is affecting the community. “My grandfather worked for Heinz for a number of years and many of our employees have close ties to the company. Leamington is a small but strong community and we want to show our support in any way we can.”

“The Mastronardi family has called Leamington home for 5 generations,” continued Ciacelli. “They’re now leading the tomato industry in North America and we couldn’t be more proud to have them as our sponsor. With the recent closure of Heinz, this is definitely positive news.”

As for the new festival name? “I love it,” smiled Ciacelli. “It works perfectly because Leamington has some pretty beautiful sunsets.”

This year’s Leamington Sunest Tomato Festival will be held August 15th to 17th at Seacliff Park.