The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association is currently seeking artists for a poster contest and a new queen to reign over this year’s 40th annual celebration.
More than 100,000 people attended the Gilroy Garlic Festival in 2017, up 20,000 people from 2016. The three-day event serves up delicious food and drink, cooking contests, celebrity chefs, and live entertainment.
Artists across the country are invited to submit their original artwork for the chance to win cash prizes in the 2018 Gilroy Garlic Festival Art Poster Contest.
The first-place winning entry will be reproduced as a high-quality, limited-edition poster to be sold at the 40th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 27, 28, and 29. The 2017 contest winner was Diane Grosman of Winter Haven, Florida.
Cash prizes of $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third place will be awarded. Up to ten non-winning entries, excluding the first-place winner, will be eligible for the “Association’s Choice” award, decided by the festival’s committee chairs and board members. The top vote-getter will receive a $200 prize.
“This year, we’re celebrating 40 years of family fun, as well as amazing art through our annual poster contest,” Retail Committee Chair Christina Velasquez said.
Velasquez and a panel of judges will award first place to the artwork that best captures the spirit and essence of the premier summer food festival.
Complete contest rules and online applications are posted online at www.gilroygarlicfestival.com/festival/oster-contest. Entries must be received at the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association office by 4pm. March 16.
Additionally, online applications are now being accepted for the 2018 Miss Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen Pageant. Women between the ages of 18 to 24 who live in Gilroy, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, San Martin, Morgan Hill, or Aromas are eligible to enter.
The Miss Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen Pageant will be held on Sunday, May 6 at the Gilroy Gardens Amphitheater. Contestants are judged by a panel of five judges on personal interview, talent, garlic speech, and on-stage question. The winner is crowned Miss Gilroy Garlic 2018 and receives a $1,000 prize. The first runner-up receives $500 and the second runner-up receives $250. Contestants are also eligible for other scholarship awards.
The queen and her court represent Gilroy at various festivities leading up to the Gilroy Garlic Festival at Christmas Hill Park. They have the opportunity to make guest appearances in local print and electronic media, in parades, and at fundraising events. Most importantly, they spend all three days at the festival with fellow lovers of the pungent bulb.
Complete contest rules and online application forms are posted on the Gilroy Garlic Festival website at www.gilroygarlicfestival.com/festival/miss-gilroy-garlic. For additional information on the pageant or poster contest, call the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association at (408) 842-1625 or email cl***@gi******************.com.
