Canadian Garlic festival celebrates 25 years

What started as a garlic-themed potluck at the Ukrainian Seniors' Centre in Sudbury 25 years ago has grown to an annual event that attracts thousands of visitors to try a wide variety of foods infused with garlic.

John and Mary Stefura were inspired to bring a garlic potluck to the Ukrainian Seniors' Centre after a visit to Gilroy, California, and the town's famous garlic festival.

After a successful first year, friends and family wanted to enjoy the garlic-infused dishes as well, and the Canadian Garlic Festival was born.
Sandra Sharko, the festival's committee chair, sums up its success to one sentence: “People love garlic.”

Sharko said the festival now welcomes 3,000 to 5,000 visitors each year, and hosts a number of local and regional vendors selling all things garlic.
It took more than 1,600 volunteer hours to make Sunday's festival a reality, she said.

By the end of the day, visitors will have consumed more than 10,000 “nibblers” (bite-sized garlic foods like Caribbean-style chicken and savoury flatbread), and many thousands more cabbage rolls.

“It's all local garlic,” Sharko said. “You can't get anything better than fresh Ontario garlic.”