GILROY
– Being president of the Garlic Festival was so exciting Ed
Mauro couldn’t stop talking about it, but the media attention that
came with it made him speechless.
GILROY – Being president of the Garlic Festival was so exciting Ed Mauro couldn’t stop talking about it, but the media attention that came with it made him speechless.
“It’s funny,” Mauro said. “The hardest part for me as president was getting in front of the cameras for interviews, which was absolutely terrifying.”
Talking with reporters and recording a radio commercial in a sound studio was far from the dusty, dirty, sweaty, smelly job he first held at the festival. Mauro began his festival career in 1981 picking up trash. Although it wasn’t the most appealing volunteer position, Mauro was just happy to be part of it all.
“It was just fun being out there with all the people,” he said. “I just wanted to be involved.”
Mauro, who used to own Mauro Staioners in Gilroy, quickly moved up the ladder by getting involved with the beer committee in 1993 through the Chamber of Commerce and moved his way up to the board of directors from there. His wife, Barbara, also has held a seat on the board.
Stepping into the presidential shoes of the festival in 1997 brought challenges for Mauro. The previous festivals of 1995 and 1996 created major losses in revenue because of a downward spiral in attendance and the constant rise in expenses. Mauro’s plate wasn’t filled with pesto and scampi, but with the problem of keeping the festival on its feet – and he was up for the challenge.
“I remember the first thing I said to the committee that year was ‘put your egos aside,'” he said. “This was going to be a financially challenging year.”
Along with the board, Mauro made the decision to bring in Peter Ciccarelli, of Peter Ciccarelli and Associates Public Relations, who has been feverishly promoting the festival ever since. But Mauro didn’t want people to get the wrong idea.
“We didn’t want the festival to turn into advertising for big corporations,” Mauro said. “We didn’t want it to be like ‘The Taco Bell Garlic Festival.'”
Before making the decision to go the sponsorship route, Mauro spoke with original founders Don Christopher and Rudy Melone many times, making sure to keep with the original spirit and goal of the festival – raising money for the community. Sponsorship turned into marketing and was very subtle. In 1997, Harris Ranch became the official beef of the festival, and Pepsi became the official soft drink. The companies helped promote the festival by advertising it on their labels during the months leading up to it.
Along with sponsorship, the Garlic Festival put on promotional events leading up to July. A few months before the festival Mauro and his Vice President Jeff Martin cruised up to Gordon Beirsch restaurant in San Jose in tuxes. Escorting actress Darla Hawn of Hollywood, they held the first-ever contest to determine the breath mint of the festival.
“It was so great,” Mauro said. “We had all these guys lined up with different breath mints in their mouths, and after kissing each one, Darla chose the winning mint for the year – which was Sweet Breath mints.”
All of the hard work of the board and the new aggressive publicity paid off – literally. The festival was back on its feet and brought in roughly $200,000 in sponsorship that year. That year the festival was able to give $201,600 back to the community.
Although Mauro’s festival proved to be a success, he couldn’t avoid being a little bit of anxious about its outcome. Like anyone throwing a party, he worried he would cook the food, provide the entertainment and no one would show up.
“As president you have control over what is going on, but once Friday rolls around, you have none,” he said.
Of all the great things that come out of the festival, Mauro believes it’s the camaraderie of 4,000 people that makes it so special.
“One of the highlights of my presidency was being able to walk around and thank as many volunteers as I could for helping out,” Mauro said. “They’re really the ones who make this festival a success.”
