From a cooling stations to bike parking, the Garlic Festival
will add some new features this year that should make its guests a
little more comfortable.
From a cooling stations to bike parking, the Garlic Festival will add some new features this year that should make its guests a little more comfortable.
At the behest of South County biking enthusiasts, the festival will set aside a secure spot to park bicycles.
“It’s a great thing because lots of people like to bike to the festival,” said Garlic Festival Association Executive Director Brian Bowe.
And with more than 100,000 visitors flooding into town over the three-day festival, biking and walking are good ways to avoid congested thoroughfares, he said.
The lot will be set up so that bicyclists must show their parking stub or remember a personal password to collect their bikes when they’re ready to leave. A group of volunteers will patrol the area but bicyclists still need to bring their own locks.
“It should be reasonably fail-safe,” Bowe said.
The bike lot will be near the intersection of Miller Avenue and Yorktown Drive, about a one-minute walk from the festival entrance.
From biking to dancing, garlic lovers will find solace from the scorching heat of July near cooling units set up by two of the festival’s stages. The units, which can often be seen on the sidelines of NFL games, will blow cool, moist air over the crowd so that dancers don’t have to stray too far from the dance floor during their favorite acts, Bowe said.
The festival will also introduce a new dish into its already flavorful lineup. Paella brought to the festival by local caterer Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme should bring not only great taste but a fun spectacle, said Joann Kessler, the festival’s assistant executive director. The six-foot paella pan “should be a sideshow in itself,” she said.
The paella station will be located on the park side of Christmas Hill Park near the amphitheater.
Foster Farms will also make a debut with its ‘Say No to Plumping’ campaign, Kessler said. Along with two Macy’s Parade-esque chicken floats, the company will also bring along its “Fosters Imposters” characters for guests to snap photos with in a Plymouth Belvedere.
And for the computer fiends in the group, this year also marks the first year the Garlic Festival joined Facebook, Bowe said.
Even with the new additions to the festival, admission prices will remain $12 for adults, $6 for seniors 60 and older and $6 for children 6 to 12. Children younger than 6 are admitted free. Parking is free.
The 2009 Gilroy Garlic Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 24 to 26 at Christmas Hill Park. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.gilroygarlicfestival.com.
Click here for a larger version of the festival map.
