Event Listing - Attractions, Music, City Events, Family, Parks & Open Spaces
Fri Jul 25 - Sun Jul 27

30th Annual

Gilroy Garlic Festival


Tel. 408.842.1625
Website
$6 - $12
Tickets

Location
Date and Time
Christmas Hill Park
7050 Miller Ave.
Gilroy, CA
district: Gilroy

Fri Jul 25 (10am–7pm)
Sat Jul 26 (10am–7pm)
Sun Jul 27 (10am–7pm)

Description
Gilroy’s 30th annual Garlic Festival celebrates the stinking rose. With food, live music, cook-offs, a children’s area and more. Seriously, the fiesta of the stinking rose is more fun than $10 can usually buy. Dress very, very casually--this is T-shirts and cut-offs country--and bring mad money so that you can swill down some Central Coast zinfandel while you inhale two new additions to the garlic festival's menu: the Italian-flavored garlic salsiccia polenta (sausage in marinara sauce over polenta) and pollo polenta tre colori (chicken over polenta). In addition to these, expect the usual steamy flavors of garlic calamari, garlic prawns, garlic ice cream, garlic everything. (But don't worry about garlic breath, because organizers will provide plenty of sugar-free Eclipse gum, the festival's official breath freshener.) Yes, you can also buy lots of garlic paraphernalia--including braids of garlic, garlic soap and garlic honey to send back east as Christmas gifts. Expect plenty of live rock, blues and C&W music, with dancing to match. It's a total scene, and what appears to be half the United States--and lots of Germany, Italy, Japan and France to boot--will join you. Gilroy is just down the highway, but think about going early; parking can be a challenge starting at noon.