Thousands volunteer during three-day festival
Gilroy – For three exciting days beginning a week from today, the Garlic Festival is all about the food, the music and the fun. But to the thousands of people who dedicate countless hours each year to throw South County’s biggest party, the real meaning of the festival is what it does for Gilroy.
“It means so many things. The first off the top of my head is how much the festival has benefited Gilroy as far as what we’re able to give back,” said Jennifer Speno, a Gilroy native who was Garlic Queen in 1987 and is president of the board of directors this year. “In 26 years we’ve given almost $7 million to non-profit groups. We’ve given back to people who haven’t been to the festival at all.”
The festival is run entirely by volunteers, an amazing feat that Mayor Al Pinheiro says illustrates the city’s remarkable community spirit.
“The thing that I think is important is that the citizens of Gilroy are always willing to volunteer for good causes,” the mayor said. “It’s amazing to me that each time you ask for help, they’re willing to volunteer.”
With all the traveling he does, Pinheiro never has to say much about his hometown. The reputation – and the aroma – precedes him. But Gilroy is more than the festival.
“I think we should be known as a community that is growing but is sensitive to impacts within its own boundaries and also the surrounding areas,” Pinheiro said. “We’re not just opening the flood gates. We’re growing at a pace we can sustain.”
If the mayor was planning a tour for the thousands of folks who will pour into town for the festival, he would start at Bonfante Gardens, an attraction he called “very dear to my heart.” Then it’s off to Goldsmith Seeds and shopping downtown and at the outlets.
“If we start there and end up at our local retail areas they will see that this is a small community that can provide them with a lot of choices,” Pinheiro said.
So many choices that San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales has been known to get hung up In Gilroy whenever traveling home from points south and east.
“Reaching Gilroy means I’m almost home – and that’s a good thought. Of course, I better not stop for the outlet stores or I might not make it home,” the mayor said recently. But to Gonzales, like people all over the world, Gilroy will always be synonymous with one thing – the stinkin’ bulb.
“It’s not only that Gilroy is the world’s greatest source of the most essential ingredient to outstanding cooking,” Gonzales said. Clearly, without garlic, there’s no cooking, and that by itself has earned Gilroy a place in my heart.”
