With nearly 39 years under its belt, the Gilroy Garlic Festival has had some time to fine-tune the visitor experience. Below are the top things everyone needs to know.
Locals Only
Friday is Locals Day and South Valley residents will be treated with a discount when buying tickets at the gate. With an ID from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin, Aromas, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, locals get $5 off ticket prices. Three-day passes are also available on Friday for $30, only for locals.
The three days passes come with a one-time use cloth wristband which is not transferable. Bowe severed as a human guinea pig testing out the bands.
“We battle tested those,” Bowe said. “My staff and I wore those for a week to make sure they were comfortable. You won’t even notice it’s there.”
Kid’s pricing has been adjusted this year, helping the Garlic Festival retain its family friendly reputation. Tickets are free for kids 10-years old and younger. Tickets are $10 for ages 10 through 16.
“We pride ourselves on being family friendly, so we’re trying to make it easier for families to bring their kids and enjoy the festival,” Bowe said.
Discounted advance tickets are back this year. Customers will save $2 on each ticket bought in advance, online or at Nob Hill or Raley’s Supermarkets.
There’s also a $2 discount for Combo Plates, normally $15, when bought online. The Combo Plate discount is available only when bundled with advance ticket prices.
Active members of the military get a $5 discount.
Garlic Train
For Garlic Festival goers in San Jose, they’ll be going on the rails of a Garlic Train. For the second year, the Garlic Festival has commissioned a CALTRAIN train, departing from San Jose Diridon Station on Saturday and Sunday at 10 am for a one hour, non-stop ride. From Gilroy Station 20 to 30 VTA buses will shuttle everyone to the festival. Once there, attendees can gorge and imbibe to their heart’s content, until 4 pm when they are bussed back to Gilroy Station, departing at 5 p.m. to return to San Jose. Riders this year are expected to be close to 1000, up from 450 people who took the train last year. The $43 fee includes a ticket to the festival.
Garlic Fest App
The award winning Garlic Fest app, developed by Articulate Solutions, is in its second year, helping to guide visitors during their day. The sleek and easy to navigate app boasts an GPS map, a festival guide, directions and easy access to social media on Facebook and Twitter. Advance tickets, along with parking, CALTRAIN and gourmet plates are all available for purchase on the app. With the app, paper tickets are a thing of the past since tickets are scanned directly from the phone.
“One of the coolest things about the app is the real time GPS map so you can tell where you are at the festival at all time,” Bowe said. “You can see where you’re going from point A to point B.”
Parking
Parking is on Day Road near Christopher High School and on Mesa Road near Gavilan College and will cost $10. From there festival goers will be taken by charter buses to the festival and back. The air conditioned coaches will roam Santa Teresa Boulevard all day from 9 am to 8:30 pm. Bike parking, which is getting more popular every year, is free. Riders can drop their bikes off at the levee near the intersection of Miller Avenue and Uves Parkway. The bikes are held in a fenced, secure area and will be returned by a bike valet.
“We have hundreds of locals who ride a bike and it’s a great way to get there,” Bowe said. “It’s a very safe and secure system.”
New and Improved
Gilroy Garlic Shrimp
The Gilroy Garlic Festival wouldn’t be complete without another, new, garlicky treat and this year is no exception. This year Gourmet Alley will feature Gilroy Garlic Shrimp, a deep fried shrimp dish loaded with fresh garlic. The dish, beat out other entries after being picked by a tasting panel, joining past featured delicacies like the Deep Fried Calamari which had been a festival favorite.
Kids Area on the Move
The Children’s Area will be on the move this year. Now located near the Amphitheater Stage near Gate 1, the 200 foot by 75 foot, volunteer run area will feature rides, hands-on activities, live entertainment and kid friendly food.
“Of course we have the best garlic laced gourmet food you can get at the Garlic Festival, but the kids often can’t take the bold flavors, so we have standard fare such as hot dogs out there for them,” Bowe said.
Like the Spider Zone, the Obstacle Course, Spin Art, there will be new attractions like the Dance Dome and Beat the Bucket. Home Depot will be back to get kids some safe, hands on construction experience.
“Home Depot comes out every year and does its Kid’s Workshop,” Bowe said. “Each kid will get their orange apron and they’ll be working building things with hammers and nails.”
Wine Garden
The Gilroy Rotary club has busted out of their tent for a Wine Garden this year. Nestled under the shade of trees at the Mulberry Picnic Area, formally where the Children’s Area was, the open air Wine Garden will feature the best wine the area has. Souvenir Garlic Festival wine glasses will be available for $10.
“It’s a fantastic area to showcase a lot of our Santa Clara County wineries,” Bowe said. “For all three days of the festival, it will be one of our main attractions this year.”
Gilroy Garli-Que BBQ Challenge
For the second year, barbeque chefs will try to smoke the competition at the Gilroy Garli-Que BBQ Challenge, an event officially sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Vying for a $7,500 prize and the People’s Choice award their best will be judged by a panel from the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Contestants will show off their best barbecue pork ribs, pulled pork, chicken, brisket and an optional category to go along with the ‘Anything Goes With Garlic,’ theme. At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the winner in each category will be crowned.
On Sunday amateur backyard barbecue chefs will duke it out at the Gilroy Garli-Que Backyard BBQ Rib Challenge. Contestants will get a taste of the BBQ big league, as they compete for a first place $150 prize, $100 for second and $50 for third.
“It’s a big deal for the competitors and we also have some wonderful sampling and tasting opportunities available,” Bowe said.
