2017 Garlic Festival (AKA: Summer’s Ultimate Food Fair)

By San Francisco Limousine Specialist on July 24, 2017

Love food? Of course you do!  How about garlic?  As most foodies will agree, garlic is one of the most essential and delicious of all ingredients, key to the success of countless recipes, and, despite its diminutive size, a true giant in the world of edibles.  To celebrate this popular vegetable, the community of Gilroy transforms their beautiful Christmas Hill Park into the location of Garlic Festival, also known by its subtitle, “Summer’s Ultimate Food Fair.” 

Like most successful festivals these days, the Garlic Festival is also an art festival, a series of live concerts, a platform for numerous competitions, and a chance for scores of highly talented individuals to display their virtuosic talents.  The Garlic Festival finds itself in the marvelous position of celebrating its 38th year as a California institution, with no signs of it stopping anytime soon.  As usual, the event is the much heralded fruit of the labor of several thousand volunteers from the surrounding community, all of whom have worked tirelessly throughout the year to raise money for the improvement of local organizations.  The Garlic Festival is the culminating moment of their fundraising, and all of the profits collected through the price of your admission ticket go towards these nearby endeavors.

Groups who receive portions of the millions of dollars that these volunteers raise include:

• Local schools
• Non-profit organizations
• Local and national charities

All that is well and good, but what about the festival?  Glad you asked!  The 2017 Garlic Festival will take place over the weekend of July 28th-30th, running from 10:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening of each day.  Ticket price ranges from a $10 single day youth ticket to a $30 three-day pass for residents of Gilroy.  The festival also offers discounts to active military members and seniors (also, anyone under 10-years-old gets in for free).

Vendors you can anticipate finding at this year’s Garlic Festival include:

• Olam, where you are invited to eat some 100% free garlic ice cream.
• Twin Berry Farm, offering plenty of baked goods stuffed with delicious berries.
• Rosies Posies, which sells a wide assortment of parasols and dried garlic garlands.
• Kona Ice of Gilroy & Morgan Hill, selling classic Hawaiian shave ice.
• Bamboo Hut, your one-stop-shop for teriyaki and lobster balls served on a stick.
• And so, so, so many more that we can’t include them all on the list!

Don’t leave your tastebuds in the lurch: come join the Garlic Festival and for the chance to eat incredible food and donate to scores of worthy causes.