July 16, 2026 · updated September 20, 2026 · events · guides
Tomato Art Fest Survival Guide
Archive: this event or calendar period has passed. This guide covers dates through August 8, 2026. Details are retained for reference; consult the official organizer for current schedules and tickets. No future edition is implied.
Once a year, Five Points closes the streets and throws a two-day festival in honor of a tomato. It is free, it is enormous, it is genuinely strange, and it is the most East Nashville thing that happens all year.
Tomato Art Fest 2026 has wrapped. The 23rd edition ran Friday, August 7 through Saturday, August 8, centered on Five Points at Woodland Street. Consult the organizer for any future edition and its announced dates. Costumes are encouraged, which locals interpret as a dare.
The neighborhood context below is retained for reference. Programs, routes, and admission arrangements may change for future editions.
What actually happens
Art, live music on multiple stages, food vendors, a parade, kids’ activities, shopping, and contests that include a tomato-themed costume contest and a beauty pageant for tomatoes. The whole neighborhood participates. Restaurants put tomato specials on the menu, bars build tomato cocktails, and roughly everyone you pass is wearing red.
The survival rules
Do not drive. This is the single most important line in this guide. Streets close, the neighborhood fills, and every parking space within a mile is gone by mid-morning Saturday. If you’re staying at The Eighteen, confirm parking arrangements with Kasa before booking, then plan your walking route around festival closures.
Go Friday night if you want to see art. Saturday is the big day and the crowds are real. Friday evening is the same festival at half the density.
Saturday morning beats Saturday afternoon. The parade and the costume contests happen early enough that you can see them, eat, and be back on a rooftop before the peak-heat crush.
Hydrate, wear the costume, bring cash. August in Nashville is not a dry heat, it’s a wet blanket. Some vendors are cash-only.
Book your dinner early. Every restaurant in Five Points is slammed both nights. Lockeland Table and the rest of the good rooms fill weeks out. If you didn’t reserve, plan on Five Points Pizza or a food truck, both of which are correct answers anyway.
Where to stay for it
The festival’s footprint is a few blocks from our front door, which turns the hardest part of Tomato Art Fest (getting in and out) into a walk. The shared rooftop gives you somewhere to take a break. Confirm parking with Kasa and check street closures before you set out.
August books up early for exactly this reason. Check availability →