(Editor’s note: The Westside Express asked reporter Javier Powell to attend the recent California Garlic Festival held recently in Los Banos and write about his experience there. Here is Powell’s take on the event.)
I went to Los Banos’ first Garlic Festival on two of the three days it was held, on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31. Overall, I thought it was a good first-year festival in Los Banos, but there are several ways it could be improved.
After the tragic shooting at the 2019 Garlic Festival, the previous organizers in Gilroy stopped hosting it. The Noceti group took over the festival and has been trying to host it successfully in Fresno and then in Stockton. Now in 2024 it made it to Los Banos, on the other end of the Pacheco Pass from Gilroy.
The first day was slower as teens and families were still stuck in school. But by the second day, the atmosphere was filled with the smell of garlic, and the entry line on 4th Street extended all the way to G Street. The line had to curve onto the sidewalk of the parking lot.
One good attraction was the carnival rides by Midway of Fun. For some context, the Garlic Festival traditionally lacked carnival rides beyond a minimal selection. So this addition could be a big bonus for its future success.
The vendors I spoke to were happy with the vending agreements, specifically not being charged a cut of their profits and only for the booth space, according to one local vendor I spoke with. I did not speak with a food vendor, so I can’t speak for their satisfaction. One food vendor I should mention was doing live cooking lessons with garlic.
The entertainment performances were good, with the Monster Truck show, live performance of the Moonshine Bandits, Miss California Pageant and more filling up their venues at the event. The Moonshine Bandits specifically drew a large crowd for their performance.
I was a fan of the monster truck show myself. The trucks did some impressive tricks. Outside of the major performances, it would have been nice to see more roaming performers.
One place where improvements could be made is around the central theme of garlic, which makes it unique and stand out among other local fairs. In the Garlic Festival of years past, a photo could hardly be taken without the sight of garlic. Garlic would be shaped into strings over vendors and made into shapes like a peace symbol. At this festival, there were garlic foods, a garlic mascot, and some garlic merchandise but, the garlic theme wasn’t saturated throughout the fairgrounds.
A good example of how to improve would be in the way the Los Banos Tomato Festival is held. Actual tomato crates, signs with facts, and tomato theming are spread throughout the fairgrounds. A local fundraiser for the Los Banos High School band is also incorporated with the fried green tomatoes.
While not everything can or should be emulated, I would like to see improvements in that direction, perhaps an exhibit about the history of garlic, an experience in the Green Hands Building about what it’s like to farm garlic, or maybe even bring back the “Great Garlic Cook-Off.” One monument of the old festival that I would like to see back is the “Giant Garlic Furnace.” That would certainly add a thematic centerpiece.
At the Los Banos festival, I met Richard Flores from Corcoran who was wearing a garlic hat. He told me it was made on location by a vendor at the Gilroy Garlic Festival many years ago. Perhaps that old vendor could come next year.
I have hope that the Garlic Festival stays in Los Banos and gets even better next year. Although the legacy of the past is tough to live up to, for a first-year festival, this year’s California Garlic Festival in Los Banos was a good start to a potentially great future. I wish the organizers well with next year’s plans.
