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It was during the fall of 1992 when Gene Sakahara and Gene Bozzo were called in at the last minute to replace Rudy Melone, Garlic Festival co-founder, for a cooking demonstration at the Nob Hill Foods Hecker Pass Family Adventure Park.A year later, when they made their way to the cooking stage for the first time as SakaBozzo, the comedic culinary duo were a hit with the crowd. This Friday will mark the 25th appearance at the festival for these Gilroy residents.But the sad part is it’s also going to be their final show.“We thought that we had a good run at it,” Sakahara said. “We want to go off while we’re still welcomed and then give other people a chance at it.”The show might be done with after this week, however Sakahara, 68, and Bozzo, 75, plan to be part of the garlic festival in a more low key situation.“The festival is in both of our bloods,” Bozzo said. “We believe in the festival. We believe what good it does for the community and we’re just moving over to another assignment. That’s all.”This year the two former garlic festival presidents are adding their grandsons to the show. Bozzo will have his grandson Dominic, 8, accompany him, while Sakahara will bring up his grandsons Bode, 10, and Kiden Gonzales, 9.“That’ll be fun because we’ve always tried to portray cooking for the family,” Sakahara said. “That’s what we’re about, is family. And we really enjoy the meals together.”Sakahara and Bozzo are known to mix it up year after year with new recipes that include garlic and this year will be no different. Sakahara will make Mendocino crab cakes with Bode and Kiden. Bozzo will make southern Italian red sauce with pork and Dominic will make a family recipe known as Carmela’s Meatballs.Bozzo said the inspiration for SakaBozzo came from someone he watched at the festival, but it wasn’t quite the vision he wanted to model the show after.“He cooked the same thing every year,” Bozzo said “People kind of got tired of that. We never did that, every year was a different recipe.”The SakaBozzo show was also all about cooking for the family and over the years the Gilroy Garlic Festival became a big family to them.Bozzo said they both have strong beliefs in cooking with family and friends. Nowadays, he said, people are always on the go and don’t have time for a family meal.What started as a friendly favor to substitute for an ill friend quickly turned into a success for the SakaBozzo show. They have been asked to make a special appearance at the 40th annual garlic fest in 2018 and they agreed without hesitation.“We’ll still be involved but not on the cook-off stage every year,” Sakahara said “But it’ll be good to just relax a little bit too.”

Firefighters fought a few acre blaze in the hills above Christmas Hill Park Tuesday, the site of the Garlic Festival that will draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to town over the weekend.

While the mosquito-borne Zika virus has made headlines, local residents can take comfort that the two mosquito species that carry Zika, have not been found in the county since mosquito season started in March, according to Santa Clara County Vector Control District.

The organization that runs arguably the most successful schools in Gilroy and Hollister has a new chief executive officer.

Gilroy Police said Monday that there are no charges filed in the death of a 60-year-old Hollister woman who was found shot to death last Wednesday at a Sorrento Drive house in Gilroy.

 

Dressed in his puffy white costume, his cowboy hat decorated with garlic bulbs and wearing his trademark Birkenstocks, he strolls through the grounds of Christmas Hill Park, and everywhere he goes, choruses of, “Hey it’s the Garlic Dude,” are shouted by children and adults alike.

It’s that time of year again, the pungent aroma is in the air as everyone ramps up for the 2016 Garlic Festival, coming July 29-31. What a way to end the month!!