Gilroy Garlic Festival Makes Comeback After 2 Difficult Years; Returns As Drive-Thru Event

By Len Ramirez

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    GILROY, California (KPIX) — After two challenging years, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is making a comeback, but things will look a bit different this time.

Volunteers are prepping up the food on Gourmet Alley, and that distinctly garlicky odor is once again wafting through the Gilroy air.

“We’re at Gourmet Alley where all the garlic food that you’ve been waiting to have for the last two years will be here,” Garlic Festival President Tom Cline told KPIX 5.

Cline is glad to have the festival back after the 2019 festival ended in a mass shooting where three people died and 12 people were injured. The 2020 festival was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’ve been challenged, last year with no revenue, we had to re-imagine it. So, this year, our volunteers are doing their service in kind to us raise money for the festival because we need that help,” Cline said

The reimagined festival starts with pre-ordering food online, things like pepper steak, sausage, scampi garlic fries and garlic bread.

To pick up food, cars will snake around the parking lot at Gilroy Presbyterian Church and around the back of the church where they will get to see the famous pyro-chefs in action, before getting served through the window and festival goers will have to eat off-site.

The entire church property is fenced, and Gilroy police already have a watchful eye on.

“Watching this come together over the last few weeks has just been phenomenal,” said neighbor Carl Marvin.

Marvin and his wife Diane said they are excited and proud to have the scaled-down festival back and in their backyard.

“We are Gilroy strong!” Mrs. Marvin said.

The festival runs over two weekends, July 23rd-25th and July 30th-August 1st. Hours are 4pm to 7pm on Fridays and 11am to 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Food can be ordered through the Garlic Festival Website.

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