Gilroy Garlic Festival enriched the South Valley community experience for more than 41 years

By Larry and Chris Mickartz

Larry and J.Chris Mickartz

What did we learn from putting together the book The Gilroy Garlic Festival Playbook: For the Love of Garlic and Community during the past year?

First of all, it was not easy. We anticipated a few complications, but too many others were not on our radar.

Secondly, it was fun and also humbling. Researching the festival’s long history brought many fond memories to light — that was the fun part.

The humbling part came as we realized we had been a small part of a much more significant movement. We also learned the festival has too many stories to fit in one book.

Finally, we realized the festival will come back. The long history of overcoming problems and the enormous amount of volunteer energy will bring it back — maybe different than it was, but hopefully better and stronger.

Our book tells the story of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, which enriched the South Valley community experience for more than 41 years. The festival hosted more than 4.4 million visitors and was a source of funding for many of the area’s nonprofit organizations — to the tune of $12 million.

Because of the festival, there was an influx of income into the local economy, about $6-8 million annually. The festival put Gilroy on the national and international map.

The festival afforded many locals the opportunity to participate in leadership roles as board members, committee chairs, and organizers of festival work groups. Many went on to other leadership roles and service on local boards and committees. It became our own local leadership academy.

Back in 1979, Gilroy was a community with little identity. Although not quick to embrace the idea of a garlic festival, it soon learned that such an event gave Gilroy a unique identity.

It also created a culture of volunteerism that continues to this day.

From the first event held at Bloomfield Ranch, the growth and notoriety of the festival grew — giving Gilroy the title of “Garlic Capital of the World.”

Our publication is a tribute to the founders of the festival, the community leaders who stepped up and served, and all the thousands of volunteers whose hard work made the festival a success.

In that spirit, a portion of the profits of the sale of this book will go back to the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association for distribution to our local nonprofits.

We have a decent Garlic Festival pedigree. J. Chris was on the original festival planning committee in 1978 and served twice as entertainment chair and twice as marketing chair. Larry served as tickets chair and on the board of directors.

From 2006 to 2019, we photographed and wrote about the festival. However, as we worked through the book, we realized many others made quiet and significant contributions to the festival’s success and betterment of our community.

We hope this 248-page memory book will spark new ideas, energy, and direction for a revival of our beloved Gilroy Garlic Festival. The hardbound table top book is now on pre-sale for $65.

Larry and J. Chris Mickartz are the authors of The Gilroy Garlic Festival Playbook: For the Love of Garlic and Community.