Event to include multiple musical performances, cook-offs and
plenty of food
Three decades before the term
”
sustainable
”
became the mantra of a new generation, the founders of the
Gilroy Garlic Festival designed an event with that philosophy in
mind. Now entering its 32nd year of operation and regarded
internationally as
”
America’s premier summertime event,
”
the Garlic Festival focuses on the local and regional resources
of Central and Northern California and environmental
compatibility.
The 2010 Garlic Festival will entertain more than 100,000
visitors during three days of cooking competitions, live music,
children’s entertainment and extraordinary food enhanced by 4,500
pounds of fresh California garlic July 23-25 in Christmas Hill
Park.
Event to include multiple musical performances, cook-offs and plenty of food
Three decades before the term “sustainable” became the mantra of a new generation, the founders of the Gilroy Garlic Festival designed an event with that philosophy in mind. Now entering its 32nd year of operation and regarded internationally as “America’s premier summertime event,” the Garlic Festival focuses on the local and regional resources of Central and Northern California and environmental compatibility.
The 2010 Garlic Festival will entertain more than 100,000 visitors during three days of cooking competitions, live music, children’s entertainment and extraordinary food enhanced by 4,500 pounds of fresh California garlic July 23-25 in Christmas Hill Park.
“It’s the 21st century and we have to be cognizant of our environment,” said 2010 Garlic Festival Association volunteer president Greg Bozzo. “One of the reasons this spectacle has received global recognition is the forward thinking of the originators in 1979.
“First and foremost, our primary sustainable resource is this community and the 4,000 volunteers who comprise the work force. Without that element, none of this is possible.”
The volunteer army Bozzo refers to has worked as one to raise $8.5 million for local nonprofit organizations.
Bozzo has diligently furthered the Garlic Festival’s relationships with such California-made products as Monterey Mushrooms, Lucero Olive Oil, Foster Farms Chicken,
San Francisco’s Eduardo’s Pasta, the wineries of Santa Clara Valley and the Monterey Bay Fish Company as well as securing domestic suppliers of wild-caught American shrimp. A long time Gilroy resident and son of famed chef and past Festival president Sam Bozzo, Greg has increased environmentally-friendly endeavors with such items as greater emphasis and expansion of secure bicycle parking facilities and compostable cutlery.
And the summer mainstay’s neighborhood focus has been heightened even more by the addition of St. Louise Regional Hospital as presenting sponsor.
Of course it all began in Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the World, with the bulb that launched millions of meals.
“From the outset our intention was to establish a garlic event that featured not only garlic, but all local fruits and vegetables,” remembered Don Christopher, of Christopher Ranch, the country’s largest producer of fresh garlic. Christopher and the late Dr. Rudy Melone, president of nearby Gavilan College, designed the Festival in 1979 to highlight local agricultural products.
“Rudy, Val Filice and I were always in favor of local and California-grown products,” Christopher said. “Shortly after our first festival, our emphasis was on quality of food served in Gourmet Alley. We truly talked about Gilroy putting on a garlic party for our guests. It’s quite evident that our wishes have been fulfilled and new items have been added to Gourmet Alley, like stir-fry vegetables and garlic fries, due to the many requests of festival-goers.”
Thirty-two years later, the chefs on Gourmet Alley expect a three-day surge of 100,000 guests to consume a critically acclaimed cuisine featuring calamari, scampi, stuffed mushrooms, Italian sausage sandwiches, garlic ginger chicken stir-fry, garlic bread, garlic fries , penne pasta con pesto, and the celebrated peppersteak sandwich, all seasoned with fresh Christopher Ranch California garlic. While Gourmet Alley is located at the center of Christmas Hill Park, for the first time ever Alley chefs will staff a satellite garlic fries booth on the Festival’s Park side, adjacent to the Cook-Off Stage.
“It’s another attempt by our committees to address the needs of our visitors and to provide them with the best products and service that we can offer,” Bozzo explained.
There is no question that traffic in the vicinity of the Cook-Off Stage will be significant. The popular venue will host three days of cooking demonstrations and four major competitions that will include the July 23 Master Chef Challenge honoring the late
Val Filice, Master Chef of Gourmet Alley from 1979-2007; the 32nd annual Great Garlic
Cook-Off on July 24 and the Garlic Showdown on July 25.
The Great Garlic Cook-Off will host eight amateur finalists from across the U.S. preparing their submitted recipes. The winner receives $1,000 and is adorned with the traditional crown of garlic.
Garlic Showdown will be emceed by popular television star Fabio Viviani of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef.” The dynamic Viviani will also conduct a cooking demonstration July 24 at 2 p.m.
And for the coup de grace, Festival chefs will provide hourly exhibitions of their preparation secrets on the Gourmet Alley Demonstration Stage. Now in its sixth year, the Demo Stage, located in a tented theater on the Ranch side of Gourmet Alley, has become a can’t-miss experience for Festival attendees.
The 2010 Gilroy Garlic Festival will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 23-25 at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy. Admission costs $17 for adults, $8 for seniors ages 60 and up and $8 for children ages 6-12. Children under age 6 will be admitted free. Parking is free.
For those who attend the festival for the food, this year’s event has plenty to offer, included the classic fare from Gourmet Alley as well as exotic offerings from other vendors.:
Gourmet Alley:
Garlic Calamari Garlic Scampi
Stuffed Mushrooms Italian Sausage Sandwich Peppersteak Sandwich Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Garlic Fries Garlic Bread Penne Pasta Con Pesto
Throughout Christmas Hill Park:
Escargot Oysters on the Half Shell
Cajun Crawdads Blackened Shrimp & Rice
Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya Cajun Fried Catfish
Roasted Garlic Chicken Quesadillas BBQ Ribs & Turkey Drums
Handmade Artisan Candies Garlic Ice Cream
Garlic Watermelon Garlic Jelly
Key Lime Calamari Shrimp Quesadillas
Grilled Wild Salmon Tacos Garlic Veggie Wrap Gyros Garlic Frog Legs
Fried Garlic Garlic Chicken Wings
Garlic Chocolate Garlic Kettlekorn
French Fried Garlic Artichoke Hearts Garlic Chicken Pizza
Garlic Rosemary Chicken Sandwich Lumpia
Garlic Crab Fries Vegetarian Falafel Platter
Garlic Sauteed Mussels Philly Cheesesteak
Sweet Potato Fries Fried Chicken Strips w/Garlic Sauce
Gator, Buffalo, Crispy Duck, Kangaroo, Wild Boar or Venison on a Stick
Garlic Fried-Green Tomatoes
