GILROY
– While some young girls aspire to be the Gilroy garlic queen, I
always hoped for a chance to work the calamari flame-up. This
weekend, I was lucky enough to do both during my
”
day in the life
”
of the 2003 royal court.
GILROY – While some young girls aspire to be the Gilroy garlic queen, I always hoped for a chance to work the calamari flame-up. This weekend, I was lucky enough to do both during my “day in the life” of the 2003 royal court.
At first, I was apprehensive about my assignment. I had the wave down – elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist. I could do the meet and greet, “Welcome to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Enjoy your day and eat lots of garlic.” I wasn’t sure if I could pass as true garlic royalty, but one step into their air-conditioned trailer out of the 93-degree weather, and I knew it was worth the challenge.
In order to blend in with the court, I changed into the day’s costume, a denim skirt and red tank top. Although the court’s shirts glittered with the 25th anniversary logo, I felt like a princess the moment queen Melissa Noto placed a tiara on my head.
Noto and her nine princesses warned, “You’ll get a headache, but hey, it looks good.”
I stood a little taller and hoped this whole royalty thing wouldn’t go to my head.
Before we headed to the Shaboom performance, the girls reviewed the Garlic Court rules. First, never wear sunglasses in photographs; it’s impersonal. Second, never primp in public, queens and princesses should always appear naturally radiant. Third, never go anywhere without the court entourage; Grayce Smith, committee chair for the queen pageant; Kim Lemos, assistant chair; and Janet Lazzow, chaperone.
I soon realized why rule number three is so important. Once we stepped out into the festival grounds, we were immediately surrounded by dozens of visitors eager to greet the queen and her court. People shouted from all around, “You’re all so beautiful,” “Hey Garlic Girls” and “Are you the famous queen?” We tried our best to stay together and avoid the overzealous beer crowd.
When Shaboom hit the stage, the girls twisted and shouted with friends. Nearby, the entourage kept a close eye on the crowd. We were given strict instructions to raise our hands in case anyone got too friendly. Although most of the court wanted to stay for the rest of the show, we headed back to the trailer a few minutes early. After all, 10 girls dripping in sweat and drenched in beer is not a pretty picture.
Tensions ran high during the return trip. Some girls felt the court wasn’t living up to it’s responsibilities by constantly slipping out of sight to stay cool in the trailer. So the court split up. This made traveling easier, and the girls could get around to all the vendors and volunteers.
Noto led my group to the Children’s Area. They loved posing with young children and helping them decorate newly potted flowers at the Home Depot booth. At the entertainment stage, Melissa performed her garlic rap for an attentive audience before we moved on to the next appearance.
“That was perfect. That made my day,” Lemos said. “That’s the kind of thing we should be doing.”
After several hours of walking around, smiling and waving to the crowd, I developed a newfound respect for the Queen of England. Wearing a crown is tougher than one might think. By this time, I was ready for a change of scenery. With an invitation to visit Gourmet Alley, I experienced the ultimate Garlic Festival fantasy – a chance to participate in the calamari flame-up.
We each met up with an expert chef who led us through the recipe and promised to save our eyebrows from the fire. For the next 10 minutes, it was just myself, Jon Vickroy and a smoking hot skillet. When the oil was ready, I received the signal. In went the squid and up went the fire. A wave of heat passed from head to toe, and I felt the sweat pour down my face.
First went the garlic, then lemon, spices, sauce, a few tosses of the pan, and I became an official flame-up pro. Afterward, I thanked the chefs and checked my hair. I shook with adrenaline. No wonder the pyro chefs keep coming back.
Princess Shanel Higuera prefers to leave the cooking to the experts.
“I was scared,” she said. “I’m glad I did it once, but I won’t do it again.”
After filling up on garlic bread, visiting the Got Milk? tour and taking a lap around the park side arts and crafts, I bid farewell to the girls. They were honored to represent the festival, welcome visitors and thank the volunteers. And eating in VIP Hospitality, getting to see the festival behind the scenes and having hundreds of people cheer for you on stage makes for quite a nice day.
Now, sadly, my “15 minutes of fame” are over. I wonder if it’s too much to ask my fellow Dispatch reporters to call me princess every now and then?
