Garlic Festivals (All Updated for 2019!)
Attend a garlic festival this year. Descriptions and activities of fun USA and Canada garlic festivals below.
Why attend a garlic festival? Go to immerse yourself in the whole garlic festival experience. Dive in and taste garlic ice cream, wear garlic hats, watch garlicky cooking shows, and see people dressed up as garlic. Most festivals have live music, entertainers and people having tons of fun with their favorite herb. A big plus, everyone at the festival is eating garlic so no one needs to worry about stinky breath!
Many garlic festivals donate their proceeds to charity and/or benefit local growers so you will be helping others while you enjoy yourself.
Even if attending a garlic festival is not in your plans, remember that National Garlic Day is April 19 and celebrate with a favorite garlic dish or by wearing that garlic shirt you couldn't resist!
Garlic growers near these festivals may want to explore the benefits of participating. Festivals can be a great way to maximize consumer exposure to your farm. For other ways to succeed in garlic growing, check out our marketing tips or see our suggestions on how to grow the biggest bulbs.
Picture: Former garlic producers Edna, Susan and Jane show off the tools of their trade. We aren't sure what Edna plans to do with the broom!
US Garlic festivals are listed by state (California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Illinois,Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Vermont, and Virginia) followed by Canadian festivals. I've included dates, ticket prices, a quick summary of the main events of each festival and whether the celebration seem to focus on gourmet garlic cooking, growing garlic varieties, or just plain garlic fun!
What Can You Do At a Garlic Festival?
Artists:
Participate in a garlic festival poster contest! Check out these contests:
- Gilroy Garlic Festival has a cash prize for 1st through 3rd place ($500, $250 and $100 respectively). First place winner also gets 10 posters and one of each souvenir item produced from their artwork. Non-winning entries will be entered into the Associate's Choice Contest with an award of $200 for the entry with the most votes. Deadline of March 2018. Entries for 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival are online now.
- Hudson Valley Garlic Festival uses the winning garlic image for T-shirts and posters with a $150 cash prize for two winning artists. The artist with the most votes receives an additional $450 stipend. Deadline is early August; the web page has not been updated so check with the festival for exact date.
- NW Garlic Festival has a garlic poster contest with a cash prize of $150. Check out their face book page for details and previous winners. Deadline is May 21, 2019. They are looking for bold design and color.
Many of these garlic festivals have annual contests so if you missed this year's deadline you may want to check back next year. Click on the links for eligibility requirements for each contest.
Community artists can apply for a booth to show and sell artwork in the Bloomington Garlic Fest and Community Art Fair. Over 50 artists showed off their art in 2018! Info for 2019 not up yet but the deadline for early discount on booth space was July 1 in 2018. All artists needed to apply by August 5 in 2018.
Cooks and Chefs:
Try your hand at creating garlic dishes designed to impress and cause extreme breath. Gilroy Garlic Festival has a Great Garlic Cook-off open to amateur chefs across the USA and Canada! Keep your eye open for 2019 updates. There is an online form to fill out at the website. Prizes are $5,000, $2,500, $1000 and $100 for first through eight place so start trying those garlic dishes now.
South Cariboo Garlic Festival in Canada hosts a Master Garlic Chef Recipe and Cook-Off competition which includes a live cook-off of the top three recipes. Get your picture in their Master Garlic Chef Hall of Fame. Cuba Garlic Festival has a fun garlic cook-off.
Junior local chefs can enter the Junior Garlic Iron Chef competition at Long Island Garlic Festival on September 14 and 15, 2019 and test out their garlic sauce skills. See the entry form here. Bloomington Garlic Fest and Community Art Fair has recipe/cooking contests for adults and kids with small cash prizes.
Writers:
Hills Garlic Fest has a garlic poetry contest for adults and youths; so start dreaming up those odes to ye olde stinkin' rose. Poems need to be submitted at the festival before noon.
Garlic Growers:
Bring your bulbs to be judged at the Minnesota Garlic Festival. Prizes awarded for largest head, smallest head, best in show and garlic makeover categories. So even black thumb gardeners have a shot!
Hills Garlic Festival awards prizes to the largest bulb and heaviest garlic clove. Try your garlic braiding skills with their prettiest braid of garlic contest! Other festivals also feature garlic contests or you could try entering your best bulbs at your local fair.
For True Garlic Lovers:
- Enter the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival or the Keystone State Hot & Stinky Garlic and Herb Festival RAW garlic eating contest. WARNING: previous winners have eaten over 30-40 raw cloves so you have to be tough to compete. If raw garlic is too mild for you, you can try your luck with hot peppers instead.
- Long Island Garlic Festival offers a raw garlic eating contest as well. Be forewarned, you have to peel your own cloves (so no bringing your own prep chef, Martha). It is worth clicking on the link at the end of the page to check out their humorous contest waiver! Last years 2018 festival was canceled, but their website assures that the 2019 one is being planned.
- Pocono Garlic Festival holds two garlic eating contests. Prices include garlic eating trophy, Shawnee Mountain ski area complimentary ski passes, garlic goodies and a festival T-shirt. Whoever eats the most garlic in one minute wins the crown and leads the “Garlic Processional Parade”.
- The Garden of Eve has two raw garlic eating contests. Whoever eats the most garlic in five minutes wins $100 and other goodies.
California
Gilroy Garlic Festival
Where: Gilroy, CA
When: the last full weekend in July (July 26-28, 2019)
Tickets at gate: Adult $20.00, seniors 60+ years $15.00, children 10-16 $10.00, children under 10 free, active Military $15 with valid US Military ID.
Local day Friday w/$15 adult/$10 senior/$5 children or $30 3-day pass. Discounted tickets online ($2 off). $10 parking.
VIP packages ($250-$995) for the ultimate garlic experience.
The Gilroy Garlic Festival is the Top Dog of garlic festivals. It was started in 1979 to help foster community pride in the areas softneck garlic production. Since that time it has grown into a huge, heavily sponsored event with loads of garlic themed entertainment.
New: Download the garlic festival app for iphone and android to make the most of your trip!
In 2018 $255,000 was distributed to 170 charities. The festival has raised over $11.7 million for charities over its 38 year run. Gilroy Garlic festival concentrates more on the food and fun aspect of garlic than on garlic production or diversity.
It includes several cooking contests including the Great Garlic Cook-Off. In Champions for Charity contest teams of local first responders compete in a three round cooking contest to win $3,000 for the charity of their choice (submit online application by May 31, 2019)! In the Garlic Showdown, four professional chefs face off in an iron cook challenge featuring a top secret ingredient.
Barbecue enthusiasts will enjoy the 2019 Gilroy Garli-Que BBQ Challenge which features Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) sanctioned 4-meat Championship Series event, a Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational BBQ (draw), an American Royal Invitational Qualifier, and a Team of the Year (ToY) event for KCBS and the California BBQ Association with an optional event and a People's Choice. Teams compete for $1,1,000 prize purse, trophies and bragging rights.
Main Features:
Free garlic ice cream
Cook-Off Stage and Gourmet Alley (a huge outdoor kitchen with flaming food)
"So You Think You Can Cook With Garlic", Face book garlic cook-off
Hourly cooking demonstrations
Garlic themed food and wine booths
Three stages of musical entertainment
Entertainers of all kinds
Miss Gilroy Garlic competition (prices and scholarships for young women)
Arts and crafts of all kinds
Children’s activities and mini rides all 3 days
Connecticut
Olde Mistick Village Garlic Festival
Where: Mystic, Connecticut
When: September 15 & 16, in 2018 (no 2019 dates yet)
Free to the public, free parking
The Olde Mistick Village Garlic Festival offers you a chance to visit with local garlic growers, sample some garlicky food and check out local crafters. There is a live Birds of Prey program and a reptile show for the kids.
Main Features:
Garlic growers
Local crafters
Live bands
Garlic and Harvest Festival
Where:Bethlehem, Connecticut
When: October 12 & 13, 2019
Tickets: Adults $9, seniors $8, children under 12 $1
The Garlic and Harvest Festival features family fun for all with garlic growing lectures, fresh garlic, cooking demos, garlic ice cream, live music, rides and a zip line. The festival is growing every year and provides loads of entertainment.
Main Features:
Cooking demos
Over 200 venders and farmers
Free samples
Garlic growing lectures
Live music
Children’s rides, zip line and games
Florida
South Florida Garlic Fest (formerly Delray Beach Garlic Fest)
Where: Lake Worth, Florida (formerly held in Delray Beach, Florida)
Dates: Feb. 9 & 10, 2019
Tickets: Friday tickets: $10 in advance, $20 at gate. $12 early bird early admission (before 6 pm) on Saturday, $20 admission after 6 pm Saturday, $12 all day on Sunday, children 12 and under free. You can bring a chair!
Note:This festival is orientated towards Garlic Food Entertainment, i.e. music and fine dining not garlic growing. There are musical acts, entertainment and great food. Money raised goes to support local non-profit educational and art programs for youth. South Florida Garlic Fest has donated over $610,000 to charity. Mascot is Mr. Garlic. Website is eye poppin'.
Check out the Garlic University with free art activities for kids.
Main Features:
Cooking shows and competitions
Garlic Chef Stadium
Garlic themed food booths and venders including garlic ice cream and crab cakes in Gourmet Alley
Trolley rides from parking lot
Performers and musicians to entertain
Children’s activities like Garlic University
Carnival rides
Indiana
Bloomington GarlicFESTsm & Community Art Fair
Where: Bloomington, IN
Dates: Labor Day Weekend: September 1 & 2, 2018 (no 2019 dates yet)
Free to Public
This festival is sponsored by Garlic, Inc., a 2012 nonprofit educational group and Community Art Fair. Garlic, Inc. concentrates on the educational aspect of garlic consumption and offer interesting lectures about field to plate food production and consumption. Has a fun Kidzone and a community art fair. Offers free family yoga.
Heres an article on why you should avoid Chinese garlic.
This festival also employs a odd superscriptsm in the name to denote a service mark (basically the prequel to a trademark) and partial bolding of the festival name (which is what happens when you read too many books on how to brand your event). I'll admit it did make me look it it a couple of times so it may be working - good job marketing team.
Main Features:
Healthy garlic cooking competition
Art Fair
Speakers
Garlic themed food booths and venders
Beer and wine garden
Two days of live music and artists
Cooking contest
Illinois
Midwest Garlic Fest
Where: Terrapin Park, Elizabeth, IL
Dates: August 10 & 11, 2019
Free to Public
More information on face book page. This festival is organized by Galina Garlic Company. Local venders sell garlic, garlic themed dishes, beer and wine.
Main Features:
Garlic kissing booth
Garlic themed food booths and venders
Live music and entertainment
Children's activities
Massachusetts
North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival
Where: Forsters Farm, Orange, Massachusetts
When: Sept 28 & 29, 2019
Tickets: Adults $5/day or $8/weekend pass, children under 12 free, be a volunteer for free admission and T-shirt!
North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival features interesting demonstrations, a raw garlic eating contest, unique venders, renewable energy info, and lots of family entertainment. This non-profit event is a fund raiser for Seeds of Solidarity Educational Center and emphasizes homemade and handmade high quality crafts.
Check out the cool wood-fired masonry oven that bakes great food for the volunteers! Their slogan: "where Orange is the new green". Last year they had only 2 bags of trash for 10,000 people. All else was recycled or composted!
Check out their Portal to the Future! They include a Spoken Word Stage designed for adults featuring quieter entertainment including poetry and stories. New for 2018 is their Climate Action for All.
This festival has awarded more than $40,000 in community grants supporting local food and arts since 2009.
Main Features:
Garlic food booths
Chef and cooking demonstrations
Raw garlic eating contest
Many types of local venders and booths
Alternative health care choices
Art, regional agriculture, healing art and other demonstrations
Live music and entertainment
Children’s activities with projects and hayrides
Minnesota
Minnesota Garlic Festival
Where: Hutchinson, MN
When: August 10, 2019
Tickets: Adults $5, kids under 12 free, parking $1, volunteer to get free admission. 2 for 1 coupon on website in 2018 (check it out for 2019).
These people know how to have fun! Minnesota Garlic Festival has over 100 varieties of garlic from local growers for you to buy! This family friendly and zero waste event has cooking demonstrations, entertainment and live music.
For more on the festival plus some oddball facts check out their funny and interesting e-newsletter, The Stinky News. I started reading and found myself laughing out loud several times. Also, their sister newsletter The Unauthorized Twine Ball Festival Website and the ball of twine contest.
Check out the Garlic Makeover category in the garlic growing contest. The best garlic makeover will be determined by how many people are willing to pay 25 cents to vote for the most made over garlic. The winner gets 10% of the take while the rest is donated to Crow River Sustainable Farming Association.
Main Features:
Garlic growing contest (prizes for biggest, smallest and best made over bulb!) Live in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, or Iowa and want to compete? Check out our pages on growing huge garlic bulbs or on growing really small bulbs! Sadly we have no page on garlic grooming tips yet.
Cooking demonstrations by Minnesota chefs
Fun fashion events "Eco Fashion Frenzy Upcycle Fashion Show" and the “Rogue Runway Show”
Local artisans
Garlic cafe “The Great Scape”
Live Music
Children’s activities
Kite flying
Missouri
St. Louis Garlic Fest has festival information and garlic peeling videos on their facebook page.
Where: St. Louis, Missouri
Dates: Sept 29, 2018 (no word on 2019 date yet)
Free to public
This small garlic festival hosted by Carodelet Gardens Urban Farm features garlic, live music, a farmers' market, children's activities and good food. The nonprofit Carodelet Gardens Urban Farm grows 16 varieties of garlic in 2.4 acres of urban lots. Have fun in a raw garlic eating contest! The five year old record is held by a 13-year-old girl who consumed 12 oz. of garlic in one minute.
Main Features:
Live music
Garlic Preparing Contest
Garlic braiding and cooking demonstrations
Garlic themed food booths from local restaurants
Petting zoo and DIY kid's craft area
Farmers' market
Self-sustainability workshops
New York
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
Where: Saugerties, New York
When: (Always held the last week in September) September 28 & 29, 2019
Tickets: $10 per day at gate - cash only, advance local tickets $7 adults and $5 senior (65 or older), children under 12 free with an adult
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival has an astonishing variety of garlic varieties and venders complimented by great entertainment. The garlic takes center stage here and everything else revolves around it. If you are looking to sample the full range of garlic flavors or wear garlic on your hat, this is the place to do it. For the grower or cook there are many garlic growers selling exotic garlic seed or culinary garlic. This is one of the larger garlic festivals and was founded in 1989. Money made from this event is used for funding local non profits; with an emphasis on benefiting children.
Main Features:
Garlic growers and garlic supplies
Garlic themed arts and crafts
Garlic food venders selling exotic creations
Garlic Seed Foundation answers questions about the stinking rose
Chefs and expert lecturers on various topics related to garlic, herbs and gardening
Performers and musicians
Many children’s activities including a rock climbing wall and gemstone panning
Poster contest deadline
Cuba Garlic Festival
Where: Empire City Farms, Cuba, New York
When: September 15 & 16, 2018
Tickets: $7 person at gate, $5 pre-sale, children 10 and under free, free parking
The Cuba Garlic Festival is a fun family event with food and craft demonstrations, a garlic cook off, cheese making demo, and dog agility exposition. Enter your perfect garlic in a great garlic bulb contest or participate in a garlic hot dog eating contest for cash prizes and festival T-shirts! For those who like wine with their garlic, there is even an amateur wine making contest. Funds are used for community projects.
Main Features:
Garlic King and Queen and Lil' Stinkers
Garlic cook off
Garlic hot dog eating contest
Amateur wine making competition
Garlic food venders
Food and Artesian demonstrations
Artesian booths
Beer tent
Live music and entertainers
Children’s activities including pony rides and petting zoo
Fox Run Vineyard Garlic Festival
Where: Pen Yan, New York
When: August 3 & 4, 2019
Free to public
The Fox Run Vineyard Garlic Festival pairs fine wines with garlic foods and music. There are a series of lectures on garlic growing, cooking, wine, and food. Buy heirloom garlic or check out some garlic recipes.
Main Features:
Garlic lectures, garlic braiding and cooking demonstrations
Garlic food tent with wine tasting
Vender tent
Hardneck garlic
Live music
Glass blowing demonstrations
Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival
Where: Little Falls, New York
When: September 14, 2019
Tickets: Adults $3, per group or family $10, children under 12 free
Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival offers a fun day watching the garlic cook off, garlic braiding demonstrations and medicinal herb lectures. One third of the admission costs go to support the Mohawk Valley Center of the Arts. Their motto: 'Eat, Stink and Be Merry'. Unlike many festivals, dogs are welcome and even have a doggie rest area with free water and poop-waste bags!
Main Features:
Garlic and herb growers
Artisans
Free horse drawn carriage rides
Garlicky food
Garlic Queen pageant
Live music
Garlic cook off
Free Moss Island walking tours
Long Island Garlic Festival
Where: Garden of Eve, Aquebogue, New York
When: September 14 & 15, 2019
Tickets: Adults $10, children under 2 free
The Long Island Garlic Festival celebrates organic garlic with garlic food, crafts, music, hayrides, theater and a bit of garlic humor. Some of the proceedings go to support local environmental charities.
There is a garlic eating contest and a stinky garlic brath contest.
Check out the Junior Garlic Iron Chef competitions for children and teens (10-17 years old) to compete as individuals or teams of up to four. They have 1/2 hour to prepare a garlic pasta sauce in front of a live audience. Ingredients are provided.
Main Features:
Garlic sellers and craft venders
Garlic ice cream
The Great Garlic Cook Off
Live music
Children’s activities including pony rides and hay rides
Susquehanna Valley Garlic Festival
Where: Wood Bull Antiques, Milford, NY
When: September 22, 2018 (no word on 2019 dates yet)
Tickets: Free to the public
Family fun with entertainment by local artists and a kids craft table. Buy garlic from local growers or attend a growing garlic presentation.
Main Features:
Garlic sellers and craft venders
Garlic braiding and other demonstrations
Live music and other entertainment
Ohio
Cleveland Garlic Festival
Where: Shaker Square, Cleveland, Ohio
When: August 24 & 25, 2019
Tickets: Adults $9, senior (65+) $5, 4-12 years $5, children under 4 free
The Cleveland Garlic Festival is a celebration of grilling, garlic and fun family activities with a dash of local stainability thrown in. Money from the festival is used to support and operate farmer's markets as well as educational and charitable market programs throughout Greater Cleveland.
Check out the Celebrity Chef Competition with free samples and the parades during the festival or order a cool T-shirt.
Main Features:
Opening Preview Brunch Benefit
Top Chef Grill-off with heirloom pork, grass-fed beef, free range chickens and vegetarian competitions
Live music and parades
Miss Cleveland Garlic Festival with garlic fairies!
Mighty Locavore Area for Kids with petal tractor maze, cooking class, rock climbing wall, chicken raising and more
Gourmet Garlic Alley
Wine and beer tasting
Venders
Oregon
North Plains Elephant Garlic Festival
Where: North Plains, Oregon
When: August 9-11, 2019
Tickets: Free to the public
This is the winner of the Garlic Festival Face-Off so they reclaimed their original name (they had split into two festivals: the Summer Fest & Garlic out West and the Oregon Garlic Festival).
This festival focuses on elephant garlic (actually a member of the leek family) not a real garlic. However, in the spirit of fun stinks, I am including their festival in my list. They have one of the best website addresses: funstinks.com!
Main Features:
Garlic food and craft venders
Beer and wine garden
Children's area
Walk/run, obstacle course
Live music, parade and car show
Pennsylvania
Pocono Garlic Festival
Where: Shawnee Mountain Ski Area in East Stroudsburg, PA
When: Labor Day weekend (Sept 1 & 2, 2019)
Tickets: At the gate adults $9 and children 5-12 $7.50, children 4 or under free, 2 day pass $15 at the gate. Group rates for parties of 15 or more people ($9 person). Free parking
Pocono Garlic Festival has plenty of family entertainment with two days of nonstop garlic food, music, novelty family shows, and children’s activities. Cooking demonstrations by chefs; regional growers and artisans; and strolling entertainers add to the air of fun.
Main Features:
Growers selling garlic and other farm raised products
Garlic Eating Contest Queen or King receives ski passes and other goodies
Garlic themed arts and crafts
Garlic food venders (including garlic flavored snow cones)
Chefs and lecturers
2 outdoor stages for performers and musicians
Many children’s activities including an educational tent, petting zoo, magic shows and The Garlic Pie Man
Hot and Stinky Garlic & Herb Festival
Where: Zanolini Nursery & Country Shop in Drums, PA
When: August 26 & 27, 2017 (2018 was cancelled, no word on 2019 dates yet)
Tickets: No mention of tickets in website, likely free to public
The Keystone State Hot and Stinky Garlic and Herb Festival features local garlic growers and crafters as well as a Chinese Auction. Have a fun time watching or participating in a garlic or hot pepper eating contest!
Main Features:
Garlic eating contest
Hot pepper eating contest
Chili cook off
Pottery making demonstrations
Easton Garlic Fest
Where: Easton, Pa
When: October 6 & 7, 2018 (no 2019 date up yet)
Tickets: free to public unless you want to attend one of the Big Stinkin' Wheel of Cheese, Dangerous Desserts or Gastric Garlic tastings. New: Beer and Stinkin' Bites Pairing!
The Easton Garlic Fest focuses on food with fun cooking demos, free food samples and a Dracula Dip contest. Their slogan is 'Eat, Drink & Stink'. They have a First Responder Cook-Off, cooking contests and even a weiner toss contest.
Main Features:
Mystery basket chef cook-off using fresh ingredients from locally sourced foods
Dracula Dip contest
Dangerous desserts made of garlic
Cooking demos
Local farmers and crafters
Free samples
Beer and wine
Live music
Little Stinkers Row for kids activities like pony rides, karate chopping and moon bouncing
Washington
Northwest Garlic Festival
Where: Ocean Park, WA
When: the 3rd weekend in June (June 15 & 16, 2019)
Free to public
The Northwest Garlic Festival features fun family entertainment with a variety of venders, food and live music since 1981. See their collection of garlic decor and clothes; including bird houses, wind chimes and hats! Try out their selection of hand made garlic soaps (mmm mmm, add a little tomato sauce hair gel and a mozzarella hat with a spring of oregano for that freshly baked pizza smell guaranteed to attract hungry people and dogs - just don't let the dogs eat the garlic).
Main Features:
Garlic peeling contest
Garlic food and spices
Garlic themed venders including garlic decor
Musicians
Garlic Faire (please do not be alarmed at the sheer vibrancy of this website). Here is the face book page.
Where: China Bend Winery, Kettle Falls, WA
When: Aug. 18 & 19, 2018 (No 2019 date yet)
Tickets: $5
The Garlic Faire combines a weekend of organic wine and garlic with live music. I really hope that there are people wearing pepper hats like in the Salsa Fiesta poster.
Main Features:
Gourmet food
Wine
Arts and Crafts
Live music
Chehalis Garlic Fest and Crafts Show
Where: Chehalis, WA
When: August 24-26, 2018 (no word on 2019 dates yet)
Tickets: General Admission $5, children under 7 free
The Chehalis Garlic Fest and Craft Faire features fun for all with 65 different kinds of naturally grown garlic, gourmet garlic foods, a vintage trolley to pick up people in the Twin Cities, wine tasting and pony rides.
Main Features:
Garlic food venders
Arts and craft venders
Seed garlic
Cloves and Bulbs Wine Tasting
Beer garden
Children’s activities and pony rides
Chef demos
Live music on two outdoor stages
Vermont
Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival (face book page)
Where: Bennington, Vermont
When: Held Labor Day weekend (Sept 1 & 2, 2019)
Tickets: $8 adult per day or $12 for both days (children 12 and under $2), free parking, you can bring chairs.
Do you want to taste chocolate garlic? You can try that and more at the Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival. There are many fun activities for garlic growers and cooks. You can go on a weed walk to discover the different properties of common plants, learn how to grow garlic, participate in a pie eating contest, try to get a hole in one in garlic golf, try some garlic ice cream, or relax in the beer and wine tent with a garlic margarita.
Main Features:
Garlic golf
Herbalist and ‘weed walks’
Garlic growers with seed garlic
Over 100 venders of various types (including herbalists) and ostrich eggs providers
Lectures on planting, growing, harvesting and braiding garlic
Cooking demonstrations
Musicians on stage all day
Hay maze, face painting and children’s activities
Virginia
Virginia Wine & Garlic Festival
Where: Amherst, Virginia
When: October 13 & 14, 2018 (no 2019 dates yet)
Tickets: With wine tasting: $30 at door or $40 weekend pass with tasting
General: $20 at door, $15 early bird, children 12 and under free, volunteers receive one day pass, T-shirt., wine glass and food voucher. Free parking.
The Virginia Wine & Garlic Festival features a selection of wine from Virginia wineries and garlic from local growers. Spend the weekend drinking great wine, sampling garlicky food, listening to live music, and being entertained by their slogan, 'It's chic to reek'!
Main Features:
Local crafts people and garlic growers
Musicians, comedians, belly dancers and more
Children's area
Canada
Perth Garlic Festival (face book page)
Where: Perth, Ontario, Canada
When: August 1o & 11, 2019
Tickets: Adults $5, children under 12 free, free parking.
Perth Garlic Festival offers a garlicky good time with local garlic growers, educational lectures, cooking demos, and an art silent auction. One of the world's top 10 garlic festivals with many fun events. Money raised goes to community projects supported by the local Lions Club of Perth. They have raised almost $500,000 to date.
Main Features:
Cooking Demos
Silent art auction
Garlic growers
Over 70 craft and food venders
Fish Lake Garlic Man
Birds of Prey Show
Tailgate rib cook off
Children’s activities
Live music
Carp Farmers Market Garlic Festival
Where: Carp Farmer’s Market, Carp, Ontario, Canada
When: August 11 & 12, 2018 (2019 dates not up yet)
Tickets: Free to public, free parking
Carp Farmer’s Market Garlic Festival features fun cooking demos, garlic growing lectures, garlic tasting, and over 120 market booths. They boost of over 30 different varieties of garlic! Come early to taste them all. This festival is known for their gorgeous display booths.
Main Features:
Garlic growers
Garlic Food and tasting
Cooking demos
Garlic braiding demos
Garlic growing lectures
Market venders
Best garlic contest
Stratford Garlic Festival
Where: Stratford, Ontario, Canada
When: September 7 & 8, 2019)
Tickets: $10 per day adults, children 12 and under free, free parking
A fun family event with garlic presentations, cooking demonstrations and gourmet garlic. Speak directly to a local garlic farmer. Check out the extensive garlic market, try out the tasting and pairings or watch celebrity chefs go head to head in a black box cook-off. Proceeds go back to the community.
Main Features:
Glorious Garlic Dinner/Dance with silent auction ($85 in advance)
Garlic braiding demonstration
Black Box Chef Contest
Celebrity cooking demonstrations
Over 100 garlic venders
Live music and entertainment
South Cariboo Garlic Festival
Where: Lac La Hache, BC, Canada
When: August 24 & 25, 2019
Tickets: Adults $5 for both days, children 12 and under free, free day parking
At South Cariboo Garlic Festival you can take your picture with the garlic mascot Garlina, try a garlic cookie or watch the Master Garlic Chef competition. It is fun for the whole family with live entertainment and activities for children (even a garlic peeling and eating contest). It is not everywhere you can see 'Elvis' pose with a giant garlic (Garlina). Check out Garlina in the 2015 Dance of the Mascots.
Main Features:
Garlina, the official garlic ambassador
Garlic treats including cookies
Master Garlic Chef competition
Craft venders
Live music and entertainment
Children’s activities
Hill’s Garlic Festival
Where: New Denver, BC, Canada
When: September 8, 2019
Tickets: Adults $5 at gate, adults $4 in advance, children under 12 free. One free pass from parking volunteer if there are over five )!
Hill’s Garlic Festival has fun contests and activities for everyone. Try your hand at garlic poetry or see who has the largest bulb! Over 160 booths feature organic, homemade and hand grown garlic, produce, plants and all sorts of crafts.
Listed as one of the world's top 10 garlic festivals. This fund raiser is used to raise funds for recreational facilities and services for the local area.
Tip: don't try to sneak your dog into this festival (see website).
Main Features:
Organic garlic and produce
Food
Crafts and plants
Largest garlic and heaviest clove contest
Best garlic poem contest
Best garlic braid contest
Live music
Children’s activities
The Palouse (Idaho and Washington)
Unfortunately, we have no garlic festival here on the Palouse. We do, however, have The National Lentil Festival, in which you can eat lentil ice cream, wear lentil hats and see one person dressed up as Tase T. Lentil. Fun fact: 18% of all lentils are grown in the Palouse region - we are not just potatoes and apples!
It is a free two day event, complete with a giant kettle of free lentil stew Friday night, a parade at 11 am on Saturday, recipe tasting and live music. Those of you who are athletic can even compete in the Tour de Lentil half century and century ride or submit a story about Tase T Lentil. If you are near Pullman, WA on August 18-19, 2017 check out the Palouse Lentil Festival (free admission).
Garlic Festival Face-off:
Due to a comic mix-up two groups in North Plains, Oregon are vying for control of the city's North Plains Elephant Garlic Festival (disclaimer: elephant garlic is not 'real garlic'; it is a leek). Both the North Plains Chamber of Commerce and the non-profit group North Plains Events Association believe that it is their job to organize the festival. Apparently this occurred over a series of misunderstandings over which group should take charge of organizing the next years garlic festival. Funnily, both groups showed up at the same city council meeting to ask for fee waivers for a garlic festival, with the same name, held the same weekend.
In the stink that followed, accusations flew. These ranged from conflict of interest allegations, to debates over who pays who's electrical bill, and to intellectual property claims. In the end, a trade-off was reached. Both groups would host their own garlic festival. The Chamber of Commerce, who has previously run the festival, owns the original name, the logo and the slogan 'fun stinks'. However, they have renamed their event Oregon Garlic Festival. No reports yet on whether they plan to focus on 'real' garlic now. The North Plains Event Association, which seems to be composed of former Chamber of Commerce members who ran the original festival, renamed their event the Summer Fest and Garlic Out West. Both groups are claiming to be holding the 'original' festival; click here for a fuller account of the proceedings.
Update on this situation: reason has prevailed and the town is down to one garlic festival again. It is the North Plains Elephant Garlic Festival. The second festival has been shifted back to a Barbecue and Tractor Pull (which still looks like fun). See this article on dueling garlic festivals for more details.