The Gilroy Garlic Festival is coming back back six years after a tragic mass shooting brought the event to an end, and tickets go on sale this weekend.
The event will take place July 25-27 at a new location on the grounds of the Gilroy Gardens, a local theme park. While in previous years, the Garlic Festival greeted over 100,000 visitors, this year ticket sales will be limited to only 3000 slots a day as the festival starts back up after its hiatus. Festival goers can expect a panoply of garlicky cuisine, live music, and cooking demos.
“It’s great… all the elements that you remember from the large festival, just on a little bit smaller scale,” said Paul Nadeau, president of the Garlic Festival Association, which puts on the event. “We’re anticipating a pretty brisk sale.”
Tickets will be available online only beginning May 31 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time at aftontickets.com/gilroygarlicfestival, costing $35 per person (plus processing fee) for guests ages three and above, with parking costing $25 (plus processing fee) per vehicle. To avoid ticket scalping, tickets will be limited to six per person, as identified by email.
Volunteers will also have access to the grounds after completing their volunteer shift, and any sponsors will have tickets included with their sponsorship. While there is currently not a dedicated path for locals to get access to early tickets, Nadeau said “locals should keep their eyes on social media for potential soft sales prior to this weekend.”