The Return of the Garlic Festival
For the past 32 years, the town of Saugerties, New York has been holding their annual Garlic Festival, known to bring in thousands of people each year. An event that once started out as a way for one man to sell his garlic, promoted solely through a newsletter, has now become one of New York’s biggest attractions.
With over 250 vendors offering food, art, jewelry, drinks, and more, Saugerties has become a meeting point for many families and friends to enjoy the last Sunday in September amongst a plethora of garlic products, games, and music.
The Garlic Festival is not just your typical town festival: people from all over the U.S. travel to see both the old and new attractions that the event has to offer. Hannah Sexton of Carmel, New York, traveled all the way from Hanover, New Hampshire where she is currently attending grad school at Dartmouth College.
“Growing up, my parents always took me and my sister to this festival, and when I was in my undergrad, I was still close so I would always go, but this was my first year actually far away and I didn’t want to miss it. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the fall and the brussel sprouts with garlic are like my favorite food that I can only get here.”
Each year, new vendors are offered to the public, and the number tends to rise due to the constant interest that people have in this festival. Rolling Hill Farms is one of those vendors. As a company that started attending four years ago, they have continued to come back every year and have become quite a hot spot at the festival.
Cassandra Shwartz, who has consistently been working at all kinds of festivals, says, “We have been coming to this Garlic Festival for a few years now and it is one of our most profitable events of the year. We travel to a lot of different festivals, but people tend to buy in bulk when we come here which makes the drive worth it.”
Rolling Hill Farms, which is located in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, is almost a three hour drive from Saugerties, giving people even more of a reason to stock up on their well-renowned vinegar. They specialize in their famous garlic vinegar and their honey garlic vinegar (which are both very good!). Capturing crowds with their “Free Garlic Vinegar Shots” sign, it’s hard not to be hooked once you have a taste.
This organization ran into a bit of a hiccup last year when the festival was cancelled due to health concerns regarding COVID-19. As it is a company that profits mainly from events like this and local sales, it is imperative that they attend and profit whenever they can.
“Last year was rough for us without the Garlic Festival and I don’t think I really realized the impact that it had until our losses last year. Luckily, we did not have to stop production or anything. But we did not sell nearly as much as we normally do, and had to slow down a bit.”
Cassandra Shwartz is not the only one happy about the return of the festival this year- many of their frequent customers are as well. Sue DeRocco of Colonie, New York recalls being quite upset about the cancellation, specifically because of their vinegar.
“I have been coming to this stand every year since they have started coming and each time I make sure to buy at least three bottles. It just goes great with everything!”
Things are looking up for the future of the festival, with hopes that there won’t need to be another cancellation in any of the years to come. The festival has so much to offer and is definitely one of the top events to attend in the Hudson Valley!
