There’s also more conventional festival fare, such as beer, fruit smoothies, shaved ice, plus a children’s area with rides and shows and crafts, art vendors (you know, the kind you’d find at one of those street art festivals), cooking demonstrations and contests, kitchen gadgets for sale, and usually a demonstration area for trick skateboard and bicycle riders.

Here’s what some of the Bay Dad authors have to say about the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

In my 19 years in California (now longer here than east coast), I’ve never been to the Gilroy Garlic festival. And  honestly, nothing about it sounds appealing…

Our family went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival last year, and although it felt like it should be a kid-friendly event, there were a lot of aspects of it that were really not very toddler friendly.  There’s throngs of people, a lot of walking, not much shade or places to sit, not much smooth ground for strollers, and there’s a shuttle bus from the parking lot to the exhibition grounds, so that’s another barrier for bringing a stroller.  The carnival-style food choices are also not particularly friendly for a young toddler.   So, bringing our toddler made it really hard for any of us to have a good time.  Our son was about 15 months when we took him, and I suspect that at 26 months (this year) things wouldn’t be much better for him.

Gilroy Gardens, on the other hand, is pure toddler nirvana.

I love the Gilroy Garlic Festival. An astonishing variety of delicious food, free parking, interesting demos, music, and the amazing smell of garlic everywhere. I even worked there one year, when I was in high school. I was working for a catering company, hawking escargots on a stick as well as giant turkey legs dipped in garlic-flavored Italian dressing. As I recall, we worked a 22-hour day and I stank for days. Working over that bbq in the blazing sun was the most difficult catering job I can recall. Ever since then I’ve attended as a patron and not a vendor, and I look forward to it every year.

We’re heading to the festival tomorrow, just my wife and me, because in the past I’ve felt that it’s just a little too difficult for my
young kids to enjoy the day in the hot weather. Even though there’s a wonderful children’s area, I really would recommend this only for
families whose kids don’t need a nap in the middle of the day. I’ll bring my kids back when they’re a bit older.

My main tips are:

1. The heat is the biggest challenge. Look at the Gilroy weekend weather forecast, and choose to attend on the day that’s least hot.
2. Bring hats, spray bottles, and extra water.
3. Be sure to spend some time cooling off in the “rain rooms” — canopies with cool water misting.
4. Eat the garlic-flavored ice cream early in the day, first thing, because otherwise later your mouth can’t really detect the garlic any more.
5. Not all corn on the cob is created equal. Choose the one with the longest line!
6. Friday is far less crowded than Saturday or Sunday, and less traffic too.
7. If you do go on Saturday or Sunday, you can avoid traffic if you leave before 9am for the 10am opening gate.
8. Be sure to eat some alligator!