GILROY
– Imagine being a queen – servants, breakfast-in-bed and a
comfortable throne to sit on all day. The biggest decision that you
have to make is whether to go to the races or to the opera.
GILROY – Imagine being a queen – servants, breakfast-in-bed and a comfortable throne to sit on all day. The biggest decision that you have to make is whether to go to the races or to the opera.
“Yeah, right!” said Garlic Festival Queen Alika Spencer, “This is hard work. My feet are killing me.”
So, what is a real day in the life of a Garlic Festival Queen?
Saturday, 5:55 a.m.: No birds chirping to wake up this queen, but rather a loud alarm and a “You’re late!” cry from her mother, the Queen Mum. She has one hour to take a shower, do her hair and go through a process that sounds more like gluing the crown to her royal head, rather than gently placing it there.
6:48 a.m.: Expecting a limousine? Not exactly. This queen drives a Nissan Sentra to meet up with her chaperone Kim Lemos, who greets her with a, “Your crown is crooked.”
7:30 a.m.: The two arrive at the festival grounds. Too early for blaring trumpets or adoring crowds.
7:45-8:30 a.m.: The Queen must log in her press hours with not one, not two, but three radio interviews. She is an articulate and poised spokesperson for the festival – but ready for a break.
8:30 a.m.: The queen’s wish is granted. Doughnuts are served at the hospitality booth.
9:00 a.m.: Any royalty is responsible for ceremonies. Spencer lights the torch from the garlic bulb to start the fires in Gourmet Alley.
9:00-11:00 a.m.: It’s time for the queen to schmooze with her people. Although she has been queen for only a few months, she is a natural with a winning smile and a sunny disposition. People love her. She has more than her share of Kodak moments with cute babies, tipsy gentlemen and Herbie the garlic mascot.
11:00 a.m.: Time to return to her duties and kick off the Garlic Cook-Off.
12:00 p.m.: Lunch time for the queen and a chance to rest her feet. She is glad that she wore her sneakers. Glass slippers can be painful.
1:00-2:00 p.m.: Back to schmoozing. The babies are still cute, the gentlemen are getting tipsier and Herbie – well he’s still Herbie.
2:00 p.m.: Reliving a pageant moment, she does a rendition of one of her favorite songs, “I Dreamed a Dream,” for a crowd in the Children’s Area.
2:45 p.m.: She sings once again the song, “I Dreamed a Dream,” at the Garlic Cook-Off and sounds just as good, if not better, than the first time.
3:00-4:00 p.m.: It’s non-stop dancing to the sounds of Silver Creek and Shaboom as the mercury rises.
4:00 p.m.: Time to call it a day at the Garlic Festival, but the evening is young. She is off to a cocktail party at Eagle Ridge where, for the third time in four hours, she performs, “I Dreamed a Dream,” which, surprisingly, still remains her favorite song.
9:45 p.m.: Home at last to unglue her crown, unwind in a bubble bath and fall into a deep sleep to do it all over tomorrow.
It is clear that this busy queen’s life isn’t quite a bed of roses. It’s more like a field of garlic.
