GILROY
– The last time I had done it was in sixth grade. I remember
picking out a pretty bow, putting my hair braiding skills to work
and bringing home my first garlic braid ever to my mom, which she
hung in the kitchen for years.
GILROY – The last time I had done it was in sixth grade. I remember picking out a pretty bow, putting my hair braiding skills to work and bringing home my first garlic braid ever to my mom, which she hung in the kitchen for years.
Now, 10 years later, I had the job of attempting to braid once again, and I was left thinking, “Along with my hypercolor shirt, did I forget my braiding skills back in sixth grade?”
Even though I had my hesitations about it and was a little scared about looking like a total dork in front of tons of festivalgoers, my editor said it was braiding or sitting in traffic for hours to have a first-hand perspective of how bad it sucks to be stuck in the festival traffic. Garlic braiding it was.
After picking up a ticket at the Garlic Grove for free, I was given a bag with a half-dozen garlic bulbs in it which hadn’t been trimmed down. The more than 1,000 pounds of garlic was donated by LJB farms. Visitors had the opportunity to braid each day at 1 and 3 p.m. More than 150 people each shift tested their braiding skills.
Elaine Bonino, chairwoman of garlic braiding, broke it down step by step over a wireless microphone with me by her side. I was wearing a huge smile to hide the fact that I was completely lost.
“You line three bulbs up like this and loop this one around the top,” Bonino instructed.
Bonino has been teaching hundreds of people for the past three years how to braid. Watching her made it look easy. Standing next to her in front of crowds of braiders put the pressure on. I was just praying they weren’t looking at my braid as an example. As I turned to my right, Rose Ziegler and Jeremiah Hlebo, of San Jose, confided in me that it was their first time as well.
“It looked like it would be a lot of fun, so we decided to check it out,” Hlebo said.
“You’re doing great,” Bonino said as I tried to make the braid look like, well, a braid.
One of the reasons it was such an honor and so exciting to be involved with the braiding group was because this is one of the events at the festival that has been there since its beginning. It’s not skateboarding or toe rings or the other hottest trend of the times – it is a staple in the community and part of the culture in Gilroy.
“People come from everywhere, and it’s like they get to take a little piece of Gilroy home with them,” Bonino said. “And it’s one of the only free things at the festival.”
Fifteen minutes later and with a lot of help from Bonino, my funky looking braid was complete. I carried my braid like a proud parent does their child throughout the festival for the remainder of the day. At the end of the day, just like in sixth grade, I brought my garlic braid home – but this time I get to hang it in my own kitchen.
