Visitors come for the tomatoes...and much more.

Circle Wednesday, August 27, 2014, on your calendar for the annual Great Tomato Tasting at Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown, NJ. This great New Jersey tradition features tastings of scores of varieties of tomatoes, fruits and herbs; a chef's cooking demonstration; guided educational wagon tours of the farm's research plots; and - new this year - the chance to walk a turf labyrinth.

Unlike a corn maze that offers choices of paths and directions, a labyrinth is unicursal, with only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center. In ancient times, a labyrinth was considered a trap for mean spirits.  In medieval times, it took a spiritual connotation, while later on it became a form of entertainment. More recently there has been resurgence in its spiritual aspect and people strive to achieve a meditative state while going through a labyrinth.

Come try the labyrinth and see (and taste!) all the other displays at the Great Tomato Tasting. The event takes place rain or shine. It opens at 3 p.m. and will end at 7:30 p.m. Registration is encouraged.

Alumni and friends in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut may want to check out the Woods Hole Film Festival 2014, which will feature a special preview of "Antarctica: Beyond the Ice," a production of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the Mason Gross School of the Arts.

The documentary, produced in conjunction with a study funded by the National Science Foundation, chronicles the intense investigation of the ecosystem of the distressed West Antarctic by a team of Rutgers scientists. The screening is at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 2, in the Redfield Auditorium of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It will be followed by a panel discussion. Check out further details.

Alumni serve up Fish Fry taste treats.

One of the oldest and most popular traditions of our alumni and friends is the annual Fish Fry, sponsored by the Cook Community Alumni Association. This year's event takes place on Saturday, August 23, 2014, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Log Cabin Pavilion in Rutgers Gardens. It will feature several kinds of fresh, batter-fried fish and grilled seafood and an Italian buffet, with a custom pasta bar. The cost in advance is $35 for adults, with substantial discounts for members of the Class of 2015, young alumni and children. Register here.

August 2, 2014 - Preview Screening and Panel Discussion, "Antarctica: Beyond the Ice," Woods Hole (MA) Film Festival

August 18,-22, 2014 - Introduction to Food Science Short Course

August 23, 2014 - Cook Community Alumni Association Fish Fry

August 27, 2014 - Great Tomato Tasting, Snyder Research & Extension Farm          

Through September 28, 2014 - 4-H and County Fairs (see schedule)