Revenue tops $1.7 million, up 7 percent compared to last
year
There’s no such thing as a recession when it comes to garlic.
The 30th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival took in $1.72 million this year, up from $1.6 million the year before, according to the festival’s outgoing president, Ed Struzik.
“It’s definitely a pleasant surprise given the economy,” Struzik said Wednesday morning.
The vast majority of that money finances the festival’s set-up and organization, with the remaining going to the nonprofits, community improvement projects, scholarships and the Garlic Festival Association’s bank account for the next year.
Publicity played a big part in the festival’s success this year, Struzik said. Online ticket sales totaled about $45,000, up from $27,000 the year before. That’s a growth of 67 percent. Total ticket sales equaled about $960,000, he added, compared to $898,000 last year.
While the festival had to plan around higher food and fuel prices, “We did not want to pass that down to the people,” Struzik said. Such frugality meant tickets and Gourmet Alley goodies stayed the same price. So did the popular 30th annual bobble-heads, but T-shirts went up a few bucks due to manufacturing costs, Struzik said. Overall, Gourmet Alley sold $502,000 worth of pepper-steak sandwiches, garlic fries and more – about average for the festival’s anchor vendor. The mercantile tent sold $165,000 worth of merchandise, up from $156,000 the year before.
Then there was the financial power of heat, which averaged 91 degrees this year.
“The fact that it was so hot didn’t hurt anything either,” Struzik said.
Indeed, after braving the rays amid dusty parking lots, this year’s 107,553 patrons – up about 8 percent over last year’s attendance – welcomed the pre-packaged cups of frozen lemonade and frosty bottles of water. So much so that the festival sold $96,000 worth of the refreshments, up from $82,000 the year before.
Just how much of this year’s revenue will go to local nonprofits remains unknown until October, but last year volunteers earned $275,000 for 169 community groups. More than 4,000 festival volunteers compose the core of the festival, and they log hours to earn a share of the revenue to donate to particular community groups such as the Gilroy Gators Swim Team and the Gilroy High School choir group. The more hours they put in, the more money for their favorite charity.
Between 2002 and 2006, the festival overall revenue averaged about $1.4 million, according to historical figures. Donations to community groups have risen steadily, beginning with $4,550 after the first festival in 1979. The festival has given nearly $8 million to charities since then, averaging more than $200,000 a year since 1997.
