Gilroy has a secret ingredient
– besides garlic – for success that keeps the crowds coming back
year after year to the best, by far, fest
Scorching temperatures last weekend gave way to a cool morning fog Thursday on cue, signalling that the mystic charm and good luck associated with Gilroy,
garlic and our beloved festival remains in force.
And what a force it is: $7 million plowed back into our community supporting thousands of organizations, worldwide exposure for our little hamlet, more than a million visitors and three days each year where more than 4,000 volunteers get together and get it done with smiles (mostly) on their faces.
Gilroy rocks. We are garlic.com and proud of it.
If you are a visitor, for the first or 10th time, thank you for coming. Please enjoy our hospitality, our incredibly talented chefs, our perfect weather and the charm that’s such an endearing component of our festival. Know, too, that the money you spend is put to good use. Mentally troubled children, swim squads, children’s hearing screening programs, the local food pantry – all benefit, and all are truly thankful.
Garlic has blessed us with opportunity, and we were prepared. That is the definition of luck – when opportunity meets preparation. This all doesn’t happen on a lark. It has taken hard work for years.
There are people who take a week’s vacation to help set up the portable buildings. There are slicers and dicers who chop and peel for hours before the first customer bursts through the gate. There are utility committee volunteers who direct and re-direct the set up of everything from power outlets to portable toilets.
There are thinkers and planners who attend numerous meetings during the year when the rain and leaves are falling and the Garlic Festival is miles from our city’s consciousness. And there is a small but dedicated staff that takes care of business for 12 months.
Today, the Garlic Idol singing contest debuts, a brilliant public relations idea feeding off the “American Idol” TV frenzy. What fun it will be to crown a winner Sunday.
Our fantastic chefs will also woo the crowds with the second year of hands-on demonstrations on how to cook the Gourmet Alley dishes that have made the festival a staple for so many repeat customers. The interaction with the crowds is a cornerstone of our success, whether it’s Bob Filice on the Cook-off Stage or the Garlic Festival Queen on the dance floor while Shaboom’s rocking the house.
It’s all in good fun. The secret ingredient to success, though it takes plenty of hard work, is quite simple: Do your best to make sure everyone has a good time. We do, and they keep coming back.
