Just like the scent of garlic that wafts through the air on hot
summer days in Gilroy, the spirit of garlic and giving back is
revving up with only three days until the Gilroy Garlic
Festival.
Just like the scent of garlic that wafts through the air on hot summer days in Gilroy, the spirit of garlic and giving back is revving up with only three days until the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
Dozens of white tents and shade structures speckled Christmas Hill Park – soon to be the scene of the festival – Monday morning. The sound of whirring drills and saws droned on as the smell of freshly cut wood overpowered any hint of Gilroy’s herb. Although the majority of volunteers – the festival’s lifeblood – won’t show up until Friday, several dedicated community members and committee chairpersons scurried around, laying the groundwork for the rest of the week.
The festival injects hundreds of thousands of dollars annually back into community organizations, said Garlic Festival Association Executive Director Brian Bowe. During the festival’s rich 30-year history, local charities and nonprofits received more than $8.2 million, Bowe said.
“That’s our mission, to support local charities and nonprofits through the celebration of garlic,” he said. “And we couldn’t do it without the volunteers.”
Each year, a throng of about 4,000 volunteers transforms Christmas Hill Park’s sprawling lawns into a garlic wonderland.
Sporting last year’s Garlic Festival polo shirt, Gourmet Alley Assistant Chairman Vito Mercado supervised a crew of workers erecting the tents along Miller Avenue, which bisects the park. He likened the festival to an annual homecoming that attracts Gilroy natives and visiting garlic lovers alike.
“It’s fun. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t volunteer,” he joked. “The charities that benefit are also a huge motivator. The festival is a good way to bring the community together.”
Longtime volunteer and this year’s Gourmet Alley co-chairperson, Susie Connell climbed the ranks over 30 years of volunteering.
“I started with tickets and garbage,” she said. “Which you get stuck with sometimes even when you’re in charge!”
“It’s amazing how much has changed for the good,” added Connell, having witnessed the festival’s transformation from a home-grown success to a internationally attended food fair. “Every year, we’re able to give more back to the community.”
After 30 years, the volunteering process runs like a well-oiled machine, Bowe said. After the proceeds are tallied later this summer, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association will divide the festival’s earnings by the number of volunteer hours worked to set an hourly rate, which usually averages out to $5 or $6, Bowe said. The organizations each volunteer represents then receives the corresponding earnings.
“It’s one of the reasons I have a job all year long,” Bowe said. “There’s a whole lot of business that goes on behind the scenes at the Garlic Festival.”
Despite the downtrodden economy, Bowe said he expects the usual crowds this year. With weekend highs in the upper 80s and patchy fog in the mornings, according to the National Weather Service, the weather “will be perfect,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’ll be just fine. Hot weather is part of what the Garlic Festival is all about. We have great refreshments and lots of shade.”
Unlike other festivals around the country that have been forced to shutter their gates due to the sour economy, the Garlic Festival added several new corporate sponsors this year and hopes to capitalize on its affordability at $12 per ticket, Bowe said. Online ticket sales are on par with last year’s sales and Bowe said he expects more attendees to purchase their tickets Wednesday and Thursday.
“We have plenty of room,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a sellout at the Garlic Festival.”
