Ladies stay busy with various activities during the 27th Garlic
Festival
Gilroy – As the band Silver Creek found out at the Gilroy Garlic Festival Saturday, Aisha Zaza, 18, and her entourage were not simply the “garlic girls,” nor were they wearing “hats.” Zaza is the 2005 Gilroy Garlic Queen and she was wearing a tiara and was escorted by her court of garlic princesses.
Dancing on stage with Silver creek was just one item on a very busy schedule that had the royal garlic lady practically running from location to location.
Despite short five-minute breaks to catch her breath, drink some water, or eat, Zaza managed to keep a smile on her face and have a good time.
While the heat of the day eventually wore on Zaza, she said she was having fun.
“It’s a little hotter than yesterday and a little more crowded,” Zaza said Saturday. “It helps when you have a good group of girls with you. I’m looking forward to another day of this and I’m looking forward to it being my last day.”
Zaza’s royal duties included making appearances on the music stages, both the Vineyard and Amphitheater, the children’s area, the rock climb, karaoke and the cook off. And that was only five hours of one of her nine-plus-hour days.
And everywhere she went, her adoring garlic festival subjects came up for a photo opportunity. While climbing the rock wall near the Vineyard stage, a crowd stopped to watch and later snapped photos with the queen.
“I love it,” Zaza said about the attention she received. “A little girl came up to me (Friday) and wanted my autograph in her festival program. It was so cute. I wish I could mingle with the crowd a little more, but I enjoy what I do.”
Zaza won the opportunity to be the ceremonial figure head in the Garlic Festival Queen Pageant along with several scholarships.
While the crowd mostly saw Zaza and her princesses with smiling faces as they paraded from place to place to make special appearances, pageant chairwoman Kim Lemos and assistant chairwoman Traci Dalke made sure it all went smoothly.
“They don’t get to sit for more than five minutes,” Dalke said. “We have to make sure we get the girls (to their next event) on time and with a smile.”
And they pull it off.
“It has been a fun job,” said Lemos, who is in her fourth and final year as chairwoman. “These girls are a real positive group.”
Despite all the work, there were times for fun moments. While Cherise Gowan sang, Zaza and the other princesses found a little baby who was more than happy to play with them. But the “oohs” and “how cutes” were cut short when the song finished and it was time to return to the stage.
For all the work, Zaza said it was worth it and encouraged future garlic queens to just have fun.
“Be real,” Zaza said. “You are trying to prove yourself to people who don’t know you. It is not like being around your friends or people you know.”
