Gilroy Garlic Festival
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225835819
2008-07-15T16:55:39Z
Stepheng3
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[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225835757 by [[Special:Contributions/Stepheng3|Stepheng3]] ([[User talk:Stepheng3|talk]]) oops
[[Image:GilroyGarlicFestival3.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Gilroy Garlic Festival 2006<br>Unusual garlic food varieties.]]
The '''Gilroy Garlic Festival''' is one of the largest [[food festival]]s in the [[United States]], held annually in [[Gilroy, California]] on the last full weekend in July at Christmas Hill Park. The Gilroy Garlic Festival is considered by some to be the best garlic festival in the world.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
==Past festivals==
[[Image:GilroyGarlicFestival1.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Gilroy Garlic Festival 2006<br>More garlic food choices.]]
The 28th festival ran from [[July 28]] to [[July 30]], [[2006]]. In [[2005]] 129,644 people attended, sampling such diverse creations as garlic [[ice cream]] and garlic [[french fries]]. Attendees also enjoy three stages full of musical entertainment, a Great [[Garlic]] [[Cook-off]], celebrity cooking demonstrations, a children's area, arts and crafts, and many interactive displays. A Queen of Garlic is also crowned yearly, chosen by a panel of six judges based on her personal interview, talent, garlic speech and evening gown. Her court is also chosen, for the purpose of representing Gilroy at various festivities and "having a garlicy good time with fellow lovers of the pungent bulb". The 2006 Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen is Sheena Torres, who performed a garlic speech at the festival which imitated television personality [[Rachael Ray]]'s "[[30 Minute Meals]]." Over 4000 volunteers from 166 non-profit groups make the festival possible, and over three million people have reportedly come to the festival since it began.
==History and purpose==
[[Image:garlicicecream.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The infamous garlic ice cream, given away for free each year.]]
The festival was founded in [[1979]] by Dr. [[Rudy Melone]], [[Don Christopher]], and [[Val Filice]], and has been a fundraiser for local [[Charitable trust|charities]], raising a total of about seven and a half million dollars for assorted causes. Individual groups and charities also run booths at the festival, raising additional funds for their causes. The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association is a non-profit organization intended to support non-profit groups and projects in Gilroy.
[[Image:GilroyGarlicFestival2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Gilroy Garlic Festival 2006<br>Garlic themed t-shirts.]]
==Sources==
* [http://www.californiaheartland.org/archive/hl_235/gilroygarlic.htm ''Gilroy Garlic Festival'' as retrieved [[January 19]], [[2007]].]
* [http://www.topquarkia.com/Docs/Notebook/Gilroy.htm ''The Gilroy Garlic Festival'', 2005.]
* [http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=191010 ''Garlic festival tidbits'', 2006.]
* [http://www.gilroygarlicfestival.com/pages/history.html ''The Origin of the Gilroy Garlic Festival'', 2007.]
== External links ==
* [http://www.gilroygarlicfestival.com/ Official Gilroy Garlic Festival website]
{{San Jose and Silicon Valley attractions}}
[[Category:Agriculture in California]]
[[Category:Food festivals in the United States]]
[[Category:Festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Garlic]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1979]]
[[Category:Santa Clara County, California]]
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