The classic warm weather that marks the garlic festival made a
guest appearance for the last day. Temperatures reached the 90s
midday as festival-goers filled the festival for one last day of
garlic scampi, pepper-steak sandwiches, and music.
Chris Bone and Katie Helland
The classic warm weather that marks the garlic festival made a guest appearance for the last day. Temperatures reached the 90s midday as festival-goers filled the festival for one last day of garlic scampi, pepper-steak sandwiches, and music.
It was the last day for the festival but the first day of garlicky fun for Lisa Beyersdoerfer who purchased her first set of garlic fries this morning.
“They’re good – tasty,” she said.
She came to the festival after hearing about it on television and from friends. She took in the atmosphere with her two young daughters and her husband just outside the tent where she bought fries. They are looking forward to more garlic food and doing stuff for her children, she said.
It’s also the first festival for Ray and Piper Nicholas who were seated on a hay bale together eating garlic scampi.
“it’s our first day, first time, first visit, first scampi,” Ray Nicholas said.
But not everyone at the festival is new. Many festival-goers, especially volunteers, have been coming to the premiere food festival for years. Shane Ryken, a stir fry crew chief, has been volunteering at the festival for 28 years. As he carried a large black stir fry pan to his truck to power-wash at home, he said he was working to earn money for the Sakabozzo Scholarship Fund.
“Sam’s an old, old family friend,” he said. In fact, Ryken’s father and Sam Bozzo were roommates in college, he said.
He likes working at the festival and all the food, he said.
“The getting up on Saturday morning – that’s a little tough” he added.
The festival stands on the hours of work volunteers put in to run activities in places like gourmet alley, the garlic mercantile area and the parking lot.
Festival-goers and especially the garlic festival queen seemed reluctant to let the festival end. Queen Jessica Brewka and her royal court danced to The Garage Band with the crowd at the Vineyard Stage, including a young girl dressed from head to toe in bright pink. The Queen and Princess Toni Eves picked up the little girl to spin her to the music.
The court was also busy braiding garlic and indulging garlic lovers across the park by posing for pictures.
As the final day warmed up, the pickings became scarcer in the garlic mercantile tent. By Sunday morning there were only three boxes of wine glasses with the festival logo – a particularly popular souvenirs – said Janet Krulen, assistant chair of retail.
“With the economy, we were afraid things would be a little slow”, she said.
But the women’s fitted shirts with the festival logo sold out as early as Friday, she said
“Because of the cooler weather, the sweatshirts were really popular,” she added. “Even with out the herbie people have been so happy … they just love anything garlic.”
