THE GILROY GARLIC FESTIVAL will be held at Gilroy Gardens’ South County Grove this summer after a tragic shooting in 2019 and post-pandemic financial strain caused the festival to go dark in 2022.
The return of the Gilroy event, which dates back to 1979, influenced a similar festival that had sprung up in its absence in Stockton, called the California Garlic Festival, to suspend its operations indefinitely.
The festival pays tribute to the allium bulb farmed in the area and will be held from July 25-27. Attendance will be limited to 3,000 people per day who will need to pre-purchase tickets online. There will be no day-of sales at the festival, according to the festival’s website.
Tickets will go on sale at noon on May 31.
The event was previously held at Christmas Hill Park. The move to Gilroy Gardens’ South County Grove was finalized Thursday, according to a news release from the theme park, which stressed that the event would be ticketed separately from the main amusement park, which features rides, waterslides and nature exhibits.
The festival was the site of a mass shooting in 2019 that left four people dead, including the shooter, and injured 17. The COVID-19 pandemic then caused its cancellation in 2020. A scaled back, drive-thru version returned in 2021, but organizers canceled the event indefinitely the next year, citing rising insurance costs and other financial constraints.
The event features food, music, dancing, crafts, cooking demonstrations and more. It is hosted by the nonprofit Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, which uses the festival to raise money for local charities and schools and to solidify Gilroy’s reputation as “the garlic capital of world.”
Cindy Fellows, a spokesperson for the festival, said in a statement that organizers were glad to be able to hold the event once again.
“The Gilroy Garlic Festival is very excited to be back this year and we are extremely excited to be able to come together as a community and give back to the non-profits,” she said.
The 2025 premier sponsor is Christopher Ranch. Fellows said the cost of insurance had come down and partnering with the city of Gilroy and Gilroy Gardens had made it possible to bring the festival back. The intent is to make it an annual event once again, she said.
Dan Harney, Gilroy Gardens’ chairman of the board, said in a statement that the horticulture-themed amusement park was glad to partner with the “iconic food festival.”
“The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association and Gilroy Gardens share similar goals of working collaboratively with local businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations to strengthen and showcase the Gilroy community,” Harney said.
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