This year’s garlic festival president, Judy Lazarus, isn’t
sweating the festival. And she hopes that the weather will help her
out a bit.
Gilroy – This year’s garlic festival president, Judy Lazarus, isn’t sweating the festival. And she hopes that the weather will help her out a bit.
“I’m praying to the weather gods every day,” she said. “I’m putting in an order for 85 degrees with a breeze.”
Whatever the weather, Lazarus said she is ready to tackle the tough job of presiding over the Gilroy Garlic Festival this weekend.
During the festival, the president, who changes yearly, is responsible for coordinating different committees and making certain all aspects of the festival are running smoothly and on time. However, Lazarus is not daunted by the task.
She works full time as a paralegal and is married with three children, and is used to keeping busy. In addition to serving on the city’s Arts and Culture Commission and on the board of the Gilroy Foundation, she has volunteered at the festival since 1988. She has sold tickets, programs and garlic bread, but she gathered the majority of her experience in the children’s area, where she spent about a decade, with three years as chair.
Once a person battles with the unique problems of the children’s area, such as lost kids and temper tantrums, they’re prepared for anything, Lazarus said.
“It’s very high energy in there,” she said.
Despite the increased responsibility as president, Lazarus does not want the festival to be a chore.
“I don’t want to not enjoy it,” she said. “I don’t want to get to Sunday and say, ‘What happened?’ ”
In her role, Lazarus has had to deal with working out logistics for a number of festival additions, including moving garlic fries sales to Gourmet Alley, feeding volunteers there and hosting a professional, Iron Chef-style battle. However, she is confident that the details have been ironed out and that both festival-goers and volunteers will be pleased with the changes.
There’s a change every year that’s always a challenge – volunteer T-shirts.
Some want them big and loose. Others want it tight and trendy. Men want a pocket. And women just want it in women’s sizes.
These are the annual cries Lazarus had to consider to design and order more than 200 shirts for the lead volunteers.
“It’s one of the hardest things I had to do,” president Judy Lazarus said. “It’s not easy because everyone has something they like.”
She settled on a navy blue polo shirt, which features a red and white garlic festival logo over the heart and comes in a number of men’s and women’s sizes. There’s no pocket, but the material dries quickly to help volunteers stay dry in the summer heat.
Another perk is the logo is lined with both silver and gold thread, Lazarus said.
“So we ladies can wear whatever jewelry we want,” she joked.
