Gilroy – Garlic city’s annual summer festival has plenty of treats for kids in 2005 and this year there is a new program to help parents enjoy themselves without fear of losing little ones. Working with Saint Louise Regional Hospital, the festival is offering “a quicker route from lost to found.”
“We’ve never had a lost child,” said Jennifer Speno, president of the Garlic Festival committee. “But we wouldn’t want to take a chance of it.”
Parents can pick up an identity contact card and sticker pocket, created by a company called Mugwumps, as they enter the festival. They fill out a form on the back of an “If I’m Lost” sticker with phone number information, a meeting place in case of separation and medical information.
Even with the security measure, parents are encouraged to keep a close eye on kids, an important step since as many as 40,000 people visit the children’s area over the three-day weekend, according to committee members.
The children’s area, set up in a shady sloped part of Christmas Hill park near the creek, includes a live entertainment stage, kid-friendly foods and plenty of games and crafts.
Rebecca Love’s Painting Garden will join the line up of children’s vendors this year. The booth brings the posh pottery store idea where families paint their own plates, vases and knick knacks to the open air. In the painting garden, children chose ceramic figurines and a pallet of colors to decorate them. They can take their painted pieces home with them as a souvenir of the festival.
And of course, there will be a few carnival-type rides for children.
“The children’s rides are really popular with the kids,” said Alma Nino, chair of the children’s area committee for 2005.
Little ones can take a spin on a set of teacups, speed by in dune buggies or antique cars and collect their bounty on a pirate ship in the ride area.
Aside from the rides, the Home Depot booth was very popular last year according to Nino.
“Kids flock to the Home Depot booth,” Nino said. The booth features craft kits, such as a wooden sailboat, that children build from scratch with the help of volunteers. The craft kits include the wood and supplies kids need to complete the project on site.
Another interactive arts and craft booth is Felipe Angeles’ wax hands and candle booth. Tykes dip their hands in the colorful liquid wax, creating life-size versions of their tiny palms and fingers. For those who don’t want to use their body parts as a mold, they can create multi-colored candles.
Kids can take home prizes at some of the booths. They can pan for goodies at the Carnival Bounces and Ponies booth. Unlike the Sacramento River, this panning location returns gemstones as well as polished rock and shell bracelets and necklaces.
In between the rides and the arts and crafts, children and parents have an opportunity to learn. Tykes who need a rest from playing can climb into an Indian Teepee to enjoy story time. Employees from Barnes & Noble in Gilroy and the Gilroy library will take turns reading popular children’s stories throughout the day.
Two other informative stops include First 5 Santa Clara County and Monterey Bay Aquarium booths. Each booth will sponsor a craft activity and hand out educational information to families.
Live entertainment for the whole family will be featured throughout the weekend on the children’s area stage.
The WB20, the Warner Brothers network’s Bay Area affiliate, Fan Van will be on hand with presenters Lori and RJ who will host the children’s stage. Saturday and Sunday, children can climb inside the van for a look at their favorite WB kids’ shows on a plasma TV. A spin on the prize wheel allows them to take home a special trinket.
Lori and RJ will perform a musical variety show for families Friday afternoon only, but they will introduce each act before it takes the stage Friday through Sunday.
Uncle Bill’s Corn Dogs will be back, serving plump hot dogs fried in cornbread batter as well as sticky sweet cotton candy. A Garlic Festival booth will sell hot dogs, chili dogs, nachos, sno-cones and ice cream bars for little ones requiring a hot lunch or a cool snack without the garlicky taste of the adult fare found throughout the festival.
On the Children’s Stage: July 29
Marionettes dance around, master magicians awe the crowd and tykes bow down to her royal majesty, the Garlic Queen, on the Children’s Stage July 29-31. Lori and RJ, of the WB20 Kid’s club and Cotton Candy Express, will be around all three days to introduce each act and will perform a musical variety show on Friday, July 29.
Friday, July 29
11:30 Ballet Folklorico: Aguila Real
12 Glitter: Youth singers
12:30 Garlic Queen and court: Visit with her majesty
1 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
2 Ronald McDonald Show: Magic & fun
2:30 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
3 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
4 Cotton Candy Express: Lori & RJ perform a family concert
4:30 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
Saturday, July 30
11:30 Ballet Folklorico: Aguila Real
12 Glitter: Youth singers
12:30 Garlic Queen and court: Visit with her majesty
1 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
2 Ronald McDonald Show: Magic & fun
2:30 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
3 Dennis Loomis: Master magician
3:30 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
4 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
4:30 Dennis Loomis: Master magician
Sunday, July 31
11:30 Suzuki Strings of Gilroy: Music
12 Ballet Folklorico: Aguila Real
12:30 Glitter: Youth singers
1 Garlic Queen and court: Visit with her majesty
1:15 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
2 Ronald McDonald Show: Magic & fun
2:30 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
3 The Amazing Magic of Gerald Joseph: Magic and comedy
3:30 Mike the Juggler: Circus arts & amusing physical comedy
4 Fantasy on Strings: Marionette show
4:30 The Amazing Magic of Gerald Joseph: Magic and comedy
