The town of Canton will host the second annual Mountain Mater Fest this weekend (Aug. 5-6) with high hopes after the success of last year’s event.

Last year more than 5,000 people attended the Mater Fest, and organizers are optimistic this year’s festival will make last year’s juicy hot house look like a cherry.

With this in mind, FOCUS on the Greater Canton Area, the grassroots group that organizes the festival, has added several events and expanded the celebration in nearly every way in an attempt to attract a wide range of visitors.

“The activities we have planned will take clean entertainment, from slides and inflatable rides for children, all the way up to entertainment for seniors, such as our horse and buggy rides. We also will have pizza for the teenagers and music that they like. We are trying to have a broad spectrum of activities for everyone,” said FOCUS Publicity Coordinator Arnold Arrowood.

The celebration kicks off at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 with a street dance on Park Street featuring the 96.5 FM Oldies band. Other activities will include the Ms. Hot Tamale Contest open to any woman 55 or older willing to dress from head to toe in red and be chauffeured to the stage in an antique automobile. The competition will continue with a Mater Haulin’ Race that will pit the mayors of Canton, Clyde and Maggie Valley in a battle to haul as many tomatoes as possible in a wheel barrow through the downtown streets of Canton.

The festival continues at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, with a Miss Tomato Princess (open to ages 4-14) and a Little Mr. Tommy Toe (ages up to 4) pageant to be held at Canton Middle School. Other activities will include live performances from 12 bands (ranging from country and bluegrass to 60’ and 70’s rock) taking place on three stages, a WCW professional wrestling match and mater stomp, an antique car show featuring more than 100 automobiles, wagon rides, a chainsaw competition, a mater recipe contest that will include salsas, relishes and spaghetti sauce, and a kids “Fun Zone” with inflatable slides and other rides.

Of course, there will also be lots of food with more than 20 vendors sponsored by 81 Main Restaurant. A varied selection of crafts and antiques will also be available at 125 booths located throughout the downtown area. And yes, you can also buy locally grown tomatoes individually or by the case at the information booth on Park Street.

With such a diverse selection of activities and entertainment, one must wonder if naming the event the Mountain Mater Fest does the festival a disservice. However, it is the festival’s diversity that will attract thousands of people to downtown Canton, according to organizers.

“People want a fun, wholesome family event with something for everyone. People can have fun in a lot of ways without a lot of expense. You can find anything you want and the food will be good too,” said FOCUS member Sherry Ray.

Perhaps even more impressive than Mater Fest’s variety and scope is the fact that FOCUS and its 35 members have managed to organize such a large event. The group was formed little more than a year ago in the wake of the Papertown Association’s troubles, and has already organized several events — such as Halloween’s Hocus Pocus and Christmas’ Camp Santa — in an attempt to fulfill its mission of creating greater awareness of what downtown Canton has to offer. The efforts appear to be paying off

“Whenever we have an event, there has been a tremendous turnout. We are letting people know downtown Canton is here, people who did not know we existed. After last year’s Mater Fest, I had two women from Waynesville approach me in Whitman’s Bakery and tell me they had the best time at the festival. It was so neat having someone from Waynesville saying how much they enjoyed Canton. A lot of our merchants say they have had people in their stores they have never had before. That is what we are trying to accomplish,” said Ray.

Members credit their success to their dedication to see progress in Canton and their loose-knit style of organization.

“All of us just roll up our sleeves and work together. There is no one really in charge of it. We just take something and go with it and all put in our part. That is why it has worked so well,” said Ray.

FOCUS hopes to build on its success by expanding its existing events such as Mater Fest and adding others, such as a river festival and a monthly flea market held downtown. They have also discussed eventually forming a foundation to benefit other area non-profit organizations.