JACKSONVILLE, Texas (KETK) — The 39th Annual Tomato Fest is inching closer, and the city of Jacksonville expects around 15,000 people to celebrate all things tomatoes come Saturday, but there’s is a possibility of storms that could affect things.  

“The tomatoes here just taste better than anywhere in the whole wide world.”  

The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce President Peggy Renfro said this isn’t their first rodeo when it comes to severe weather.  

“We’ve been very fortunate for many years with storms coming and for some reason once they start coming either north or south, they seem to split up when they come to Jacksonville,” said Renfro. 

Renfro said while they’ve been lucky in the past, officials still have a plan in case things get bad.  

“We’ve got a lot of events that are under the overpass,” she said. “We do have a lot of businesses that are open and so with that, if that happens that they would welcome those that don’t want to get a little wet.”  

City leaders will meet Saturday morning to look at the latest forecast and plan accordingly.  

“We’re just waiting on the weather to see what happens but again we feel very confident that it’ll miss us,” added Renfro. 

Rain or shine, visitors from all over Texas are expected to come out for contests, car shows, tournaments, and of course, tomatoes. 

The Texas Blueberry Festival is also happening in Nacogdoches on Saturday, and city officials are confident that the event will go on despite possible severe weather.