Residents take up arms in Tomato War

WASSAIC — With boxes of plump tomatoes at the ready, Philip Mactaggart and Gordon Elliott invited spectators to hurl tomatoes for an excellent cause at the third annual Tomato War on Sunday, Sept. 2.

Held at the Mactaggart property in Wassaic, this year’s Tomato War welcomed 300 guests, a notable increase from last year’s event by about 100 participants. With the return of the Children’s Tomato War, there were roughly 40 children under the age of 12 who signed up to participate. 

“It seems to grow every year and people have a lot of fun,” Mactaggart commented.

“It’s been great,” agreed Mactaggart’s wife, Amy. “Everyone’s been helping and chipping in, and local people are sponsoring the event, which is great for us to increase awareness.”

Similar to the game Capture the Flag, the object of the Tomato War is for one team to retrieve the other team’s flag without being pelted by tomatoes. 

Once guests had their fill of the tomato-based battle, they were invited to stick around for a BBQ lunch, live music and activities for the young warriors.

All proceeds from the Tomato War benefit Kulen Outreach, the Cambodian educational organization founded by Mactaggart, Gordon and Claire Elliott. Meagan Goulart, cousin of Amy Mactaggart, gave a presentation about her experience volunteering with schools in Cambodia.

To date, Amy Mactaggart reported that all is going splendidly with Kulen Outreach. Recently, three of the school’s ninth-grade students placed first among their peers at their development level. With this year’s Tomato War proceeds, she said they hope to purchase a new piece of land where they can build a school in the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia, to accommodate more students. The Mactaggarts and Elliotts also anticipate starting a student empowerment group where the students can enroll in a 10-week mentor shadowing program and have more exposure to community leaders.

With Cambodia experiencing an increase in tourism, Mactaggart said more jobs are being created. As students join Kulen Outreach and are provided with more resources, she said, “We’re helping them to learn English and see that there are career opportunities out there. Our program tries to show them and get them access to different career paths that can give them more opportunities.”

While the proceeds are still being calculated, Philip Mactaggart said the war raised just over $100,000.

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