Latest news with #GilroyGarlicFestival
Eater
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
At Long Last, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Has Returned
It was back in 2022 that the organizers of the Gilroy Garlic Festival let the greater garlic community know there'd be no more grand festivities, 'indefinitely.' Thankfully, the drought is over: from July 25 to 27, there'll be a smaller, more intimate garlic festival in Gilroy. Tickets are already waitlisted since, per the Mercury News , they sold out within hours. There'll be all the food, music, and activities of former fests, just on a smaller scale. The 3,000-person event will take place on the five-acre South County Grove next to the Gilroy Gardens theme park. In 2019, a gunman wounded 17 people and killed three attendees, and the festival went on hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19. The festival then transitioned to a drive-thru version in 2021 and other smaller events, according to the Mercury News . The festival was founded in 1978 and became a keystone of the area's annual goings-on. Marina burger joint cited for rodent droppings Athleisure-clad diners on Chestnut Street may pause before eating at Super Duper Burgers next time. A routine city inspection found rodent droppings throughout the restaurant and bread containers stored on the floor. Though the original order instructed the restaurant's outpost to close, the San Francisco Chronicle reports the restaurant received a conditional pass; the original order's closure instruction was apparently an error. An Anchor Brewing update looks nonexistent Fans of Anchor Brewing have been waiting to see what new billionaire owner Hamdi Ulukaya would do with the steam beer-producing hometown hero. The San Francisco Standard took it upon themselves to figure it out. Unfortunately, there's been little activity since May 2024: there was a February Alcoholic Beverage Control permit secured, an April sighting of Ulukaya at Mexican restaurant Papito, and that's about it. Ciccio reopens after a fire It seems it's comeback season for two local restaurants that were hit by fires this spring. Niku Steakhouse made its comeback on Friday, May 30, after a fire in March. Now, Ciccio in Yountville — which suffered a minor fire at the end of April — is back in action as of Saturday, May 31. Mellow coffee lounge opens in Berkeley University Avenue's Wine So Cru is about to open a 'collaborative coffee lounge,' per an Instagram announcement. Styled as 42ndPour, the business will open Saturday, June 7, from 7 to 11 a.m., pouring the immaculate Hydrangea Coffee Roaster. There'll be East Bay-baked pastries and tea, too. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘She was our garlic queen': Nancy Stewart-Franczak, Garlic Fest cofounder and a culture pioneer, dies at 67
Nancy Stewart-Franczak, gregarious cultural titan of the Palm Beaches and the doyenne behind some of South Florida's most beloved food feasts — from the pungent South Florida Garlic Fest to the sprawling Delray Affair — has died. Stewart-Franczak, 67, who struggled in recent years through three rounds of chemotherapy, died on April 28 due to complications from liver and colon cancer, confirmed her husband, John Franczak. Her death was announced Monday by her longtime company, event producer Festival Management Group (FMG), along with a public celebration of life that will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 12, at Delray Beach Golf Club, 2200 Highland Ave. 'My incredible wife was incredibly organized with everything,' John Franczak told the Sun Sentinel via text message. 'She was just full of energy and grit and great ideas. I'm a little overwhelmed, but by God's grace we'll make it through.' Friends and colleagues referred to Stewart-Franczak, the executive director of Festival Management Group for nearly 30 years, as a 'workhorse' and a 'force of nature' who presided over troves of community events, including the Wellington Bacon & Bourbon Fest and LagoonFest in West Palm Beach. But the crown jewel of them all was the South Florida Garlic Fest, a stinky ode to the bulb whose national music headliners (Buddy Guy, Blues Traveler, Trombone Shorty, among others), helped morph Delray Beach in the late 1990s from a sleepy beach town into a destination. 'She was our garlic queen,' says Bern Ryan, FMG's chief financial officer. 'Without a doubt, she threw some of the biggest and best parties, and they were flawless. She had such an attention to detail. She'd give you a 40-page-long, minute-by-minute timeline detailing everything that was supposed to happen at any given festival. She never wanted to fail or disappoint.' Born in Pennsylvania, Stewart-Franczak began her career as a computer programmer for IBM, then ran a graphic design studio on Atlantic Avenue creating ads and logos for restaurants like Dada and food-service companies like Cheney Bros. That evolved into event production when one vendor at California's Gilroy Garlic Festival suggested she program a South Florida version. Ryan recalls the day in 1998 when he and Stewart-Franczak were in the room pitching what would become the then-named Delray Beach Garlic Fest — and a city official OK'ed the festival, but not before they 'laughed at it,' he says. 'They said to us, 'That's the stupidest idea I ever heard for a festival,'' Ryan recalls with a laugh. 'Couple of weeks later, Nancy drops off the check to pay for city services, and they just looked at her thunderstruck, like, 'Really? Are you serious?'' She was. About 8,000 festivalgoers passed through Garlic Fest's gates that first year — but Stewart-Franczak wasn't finished, expanding with other events outside the city. 'She believed in the power of events to make a positive difference in the lifeblood of a community,' wrote blogger Jeff Perlman, a former Delray Beach mayor and commissioner, in a blog post titled, 'A true friend.' 'Nancy was a wonderful person — hard working, sincere, funny, down to earth, loving and tough as they come. She took pride in Delray's progress.' Even if she and Delray Beach officials didn't always agree. As Garlic Fest's attendance grew, the city of Delray Beach in 2016 voted to curtail several public events, forcing Stewart-Franczak to rebrand and move the bash into different cities. She took that exodus hard, recalls FMG associate director Jennifer Costello. 'If there's one person who turned an entire city into a destination, it was Nancy with Delray Beach,' Costello says. 'She revitalized the downtown way before the hotels and touristy stuff came.' Leanne Morgan, a friend and contractor who's helped organize FMG events for 20 years, says Stewart-Franczak loved wine, travel and live music. At every festival, she would park her golf cart beside the stage apron, soaking in the sounds of bands at a volume Morgan calls 'Nancy-loud.' 'She wanted to be close enough so the music could rip her heart out of her chest,' Morgan says. 'You didn't bother her in the golf cart. After working so hard to program the events, that's how she relaxed.' Such was Stewart-Franczak's tireless ethic that she worked until her final moments. On the day she died, she met with the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, Costello says — and she persuaded the city to return South Florida Garlic Fest to Delray Beach after a nine-year absence. 'She had been low on energy that morning, but when the meeting finished, the lights came back on in her eyes,' Costello recalls, holding back a sob. 'Then she said to me, 'It's full-circle. We're back.' And I think that maybe, because she brought the festival back to Delray, she knew she was finally able to rest.' In lieu of flowers, donations in Stewart-Franczak's memory can be made to the Boynton Beach nonprofit EJS Project, which empowers youth in communities of color. To donate, go to
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Gilroy Garlic Festival announces return six years after mass shooting
Organizers of the Gilroy Garlic Festival have announced the event will return this summer in a new form at a new location, six years after the festival ended in a deadly mass shooting. In a statement Saturday, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association will take place from July 25-27 at South County Grove at the Gilroy Gardens theme park. "Gilroy has a long, proud tradition of bringing people together through garlic," Paul Nadeau, the association's president, said in a statement. "We are honored to welcome the community back to experience a fresh, vibrant version of the festival, rooted in the same values and mission that began more than four decades ago." Organizers said the 2025 event is capped at 3,000 guests per day, which offers "a more intimate and immersive festival experience filled with flavorful foods, community spirit, and live entertainment." The annual festival, which celebrates all things garlic, was held at Christmas Hill Park starting in 1979, drawing tens of thousands of people to the southern Santa Clara County community each year. The final day of the 2019 festival ended in tragedy when a gunman killed three people and wounded 17 others , before killing himself following a shootout with police. After the 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a drive-through event was held the following year before the festival was cancelled permanently in 2022 . Organizers said tickets to the 2025 festival will go on sale April 19, which is also known as National Garlic Day. No tickets will be sold at the door. Additional information about the event can be found on the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association's website .
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gilroy Garlic Festival Returns July 25-27, 2025
Tickets Go On Sale April 19th, Sponsorship Opportunities Open April 5th GILROY, Calif., April 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association is pleased to officially announce the return of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, taking place July 25–27, 2025 at -South County Grove, located at Gilroy Gardens. The event will welcome up to 3,000 guests per day, offering a more intimate and immersive festival experience filled with flavorful foods, community spirit, and live entertainment. Sponsorship opportunities will open April 5, 2025, offering local businesses and organizations the opportunity to support one of California's most iconic food festivals. Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 19, 2025 — in celebration of National Garlic Day. "Gilroy has a long, proud tradition of bringing people together through garlic," said Paul Nadeau, President of the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association. "We are honored to welcome the community back to experience a fresh, vibrant version of the festival, rooted in the same values and mission that began more than four decades ago." Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association has a legacy of celebrating Gilroy's heritage while giving back to the community. Since its inception, the organization has raised and distributed millions of dollars to local non-profits, schools, and charitable organizations, all through the dedication of volunteers and community members. The 2025 festival will feature garlicky favorites, culinary competitions, live music, artisanal vendors, and activities for all ages. Full programming details and ticketing options will be released in the coming weeks. For more information, visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Gilroy Garlic Festival Association Sign in to access your portfolio
