HOOPER -- They call it Tomato Days, but Monday's end-of-summer celebration in Hooper featured more than just red fruit.
An annual Labor Day tradition in Hooper, organizers of the event weren't sure exactly how many Tomato Days there have been, but most guessed the event has been going on for at least 80 years.
"I think this is the 82nd or 83rd year for Tomato Days," said one of the event's organizers and Hooper resident, Bob Fowers.
Thousands of Top of Utah residents converged on Hooper Park to sample fresh produce and enjoy the festivities.
"We've had just a ton of people here all day," Fowers said. "It seems to get bigger and bigger every year."
The celebration featured a craft fair, a photo contest, a Farmer's Market, a produce contest, a rock climbing wall, carnival rides and other games.
Commercial vendors also set up booths at the fair, selling anything from fresh produce to specialty T-shirts.
One of the highlights of the day was the dog race.
Dogs big and small lined up at one end of Hooper Arena and raced to their owners who were stationed at the opposite end of the stadium.
Carlie Wall and her Red Heeler, Sam, took first price at the race.
Wall, an 18-year-old who recently graduated from Fremont High, held a tennis ball as she called for Sam to come running.
"He's pretty fast and he likes to play fetch," Wall said. "So I knew he'd come running if I had the ball."
West Point resident Ron Gerrard and his Labrador-Golden Retriever mix, Sandy, were also finalists in the race.
"I wish we could have won the whole thing," Gerrard said. "I'm coming back again next year."
Fowers said the dog show has been held for at least the last seven years and is always a favorite among fair-goers.
"You gotta come out to Hooper to see anything this cool," he said.
Another big draw at Tomato Days was Rhett Davis's "Smash Car."
Davis, a Hooper resident, brought an old Plymouth Horizon along with a selection of sledgehammers.
For $1, fair-goers could pick a sledgehammer and take three whacks at the old car.
"I started it at the Wal-Mart parking lot during Christmas so people could take out their Christmas shopping frustrations," Davis said. "Then the mayor asked me to do it at Tomato Days and people have loved it. It's something unique, something different. Probably something that you'd only find at Tomato Days."
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