Chant it with me: garlic fries, garlic ice cream, garlic cookies, garlic popcorn, pickled garlic, garlic rubs, garlic olive oils, garlic steak tacos, garlic chicken, garlic calamari, garlic mussels, garlic shrimp scampi, garlic pasta con pesto, garlic bread, garlic vinegars and garlic pepper steak sandwiches.
So went the refrain at the Gilroy Garlic Festival for decades, uplifted further by live music, cooking demos, recipe contests and flamethrowing Gourmet Alley.
If garlic qualifies as a religion, and it is for me, this was its Mecca.
Then tragedy struck with a mass shooting in 2019, touching off a series of events that put GGF on pause.
I originally planned to report on 1) how the community-minded volunteers around what is, at its core, a fundraiser for civic-minded groups, were slowly rebuilding with complementary events like a popular golf tournament and Great Garlic Pasta Party, as they figured out how to recreate the main act; and 2) How an imposter decided to let people believe a wannabe in Los Banos (“California Garlic Festival”) was the OG, which felt tacky, at best.
At the time, Gilroy Garlic Association’s 2024 president Cindy Fellows took the high road.
“We’ve tried to clarify we haven’t gone anywhere,” she said. “People are believing it’s us, but we’re not rebranding, we’re restarting smaller, bringing it back to our roots. We haven’t gone anywhere.”
So it was heaven-sent news to hear the Gilroy Garlic Festival will return July 25-27, with 3,000 people per day, to a new spot: Gilroy Gardens’ South County Grove.
Hallelujah. gilroygarlicassociation.com
LEAF LIFE
If you get down with a plant-based, cruelty-free, animal-friendly, environmentally sustainable lifestyle—or aspire to—you’ve got an idyllic avenue to do so with thousands of similarly minded souls, and more than 100 exhibitors. (That’s a lot of meat-free momentum, y’all.)
As this week’s cover story details, VegFest—from organizing nonprofit animal rescue pros Little Hill Sanctuary—descends on Santa Cruz Fairgrounds (2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville) 11am-6pm on May 31. One awesome way to deepen the experience and help the cause: Volunteer for a four-hour shift on Friday or Saturday and score what sounds like an epic bag of vegan products from festival sponsors, with the good-deed feels to go with it. Signing up is easy via the volunteer tab at vegfestsantacruz.org.
FOR THE W
The sixth annual Watsonville Wine, Beer & Art Walk strolls 1-5pm Saturday, May 31, with a powerhouse lineup of downtown wineries and breweries participating: Alfaro Family Vineyards, Buena Vista Brewing Company, Discretion Brewing, Fortino Winery, Fruition Brewing, Hecker Pass Winery, Hillside Brewing Co., Left Bend Winery, Madson Wines, Pelican Ranch Winery, Quintessential Wines, Regan Vineyards Winery, Santa Cruz Cider Company, Serventi Ranch, Stirm Wine, Watsonville Public House, Windy Oaks Estate, Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains—and more, eventbrite.com/e/wine-beer-and-art-walk-2025-tickets-1145004652739.
HOT TOPPERS
El Jardín Restaurant (55 Capitola Rd, Suite 102, Santa Cruz) is making sweet moves in Live Oak, now serving Marianne’s Ice Cream a brand of popsicles called La Michoacana, eljardinrestaurant.net…Chocolat (1522 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz), never short on intrigue or flavor, has introduced a 5-7pm taco happy hour(s) Mondays through Thursdays, plus noon-6pm Fridays, with $5 tacos and $10 premium Margaritas, chocolatesantacruz.com…Happy International Burger Day (May 28) for all who celebrate, as Yelp did with its list of the top 25 burger chains with 100+ locations in the U.S., with In-N-Out earning first, and Habit coming in second (sorry VegFest, but I do order the grilled cheese with grilled onions at In-N-Out!)…Jersey Shore alum Michael Sorrentino, assess the real “Situation”: “The secret ingredient to every meal is love. And also garlic.”
