Kiwanis Garlic Festival returns Sept. 6 and 7

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Organizers say that last year’s Kiwanis Garlic Festival was its most successful since its founding in 2007 – but they hope to top it this year when the annual event returns Sept. 6 and 7.

“I think this is our 17th event,” spokesperson Bonnie Richardson, said. “We've had lots of time to learn and refine what we're doing and but we're always trying to respond to things that we maybe should improve on. … We certainly work hard. We have a team of about eight people who all have various roles. We start planning next year's event not long after we finish winding up this one. It's a lot of work and thought that goes into what's happening. And as I said, we, we've got a long history.”

The garlic festival was the result of a partnership between the local Kiwanis Club and well-known garlic grower Warren Ham of August’s Harvest Inc., at a time when the local industry was struggling to compete with the cheap imported garlic that was flooding the Canadian market.

The original festival was an outdoor event staged on the site of the former fairgrounds located off Glastonbury Crescent. It featured two huge tents, one for entertainers and the other for garlic cooking demonstrations. Patrons loved the charm of this outdoor venue, but there were two big problems: the hoards of wasps that appeared and the rain.

“We had 10 outdoors seasons and nine of them were rainy,” Richardson joked. “We did not have the weatherman in our corner.”

In 2016, the committee pivoted to an indoor venue at the Burnside Agriplex and the festival has been home in the Stratford Rotary Complex’s community hall since 2017, a welcome change Richardson said.

This year, the festival will continue to showcase the world-class product being grown in southwestern Ontario, including August’s Harvest Inc. and Brant County Garlic, mainstays of the garlic grower community and participants in the Stratford Kiwanis Garlic Festival since 2007. Pure Music Garlic, Butler Farm, Dancing Pig Farms and Gricklegrass Farm will also be on display.

New vendors for 2025 include Appleflats, a family business that began by making jelly from the single crab apple tree on their farm outside of Wellesley in 2016, Moss Berry Farm that will sell fresh berries, handmade jams and chutneys, and Huron County Salt Company with unique flavoured salts made from local ingredients.

Since its introduction to the Stratford Kiwanis Garlic Festival in 2017, the Tastings and Pairings event has captured the imaginations – and taste buds – of festival patrons and vendors alike. This year, the organizers have introduced a non-alcoholic session featuring tea from Tea Leaves paired with sweets from Rhéo Thompson Candies.

Patrons who do not participate in the formal tastings program may purchase tickets to purchase samples of alcoholic beverages throughout the event. Many food vendors provide samples of their products at no charge.

On Sept. 7, the festival will feature cooking demonstrations by local chefs, including Andrew Mavor, musician turned chef and currently a teacher of culinary arts at the Avocado Café in Stratford District Secondary School, and Eli Silverthorn, an instructor at the Stratford Chefs School.

All the proceeds from this event go towards supporting Kiwanis initiatives in the Stratford community.

Admission is $10 per day and children under 12 are free. This year, organizers are offering a price break of two adult tickets for $10 on both Saturday and Sunday for patrons who arrive after 2 p.m. A two-day pass is also available for $15. Free parking is available on site.

For more information, including a complete listing of vendors, presentations and tastings, visit stratfordgarlicfestival.ca.