Photos: Courtesy of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber and Lorianna Weathers Photography
Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, September 4th Bennington, Vermont will transform into “Garlic Town, USA” once again in celebration of all things garlic and the Vermont harvest!
Bennington has become world-renowned for its annual Garlic and Herb Festival held every year on Labor Day weekend. Two years ago, the festival saw crowds of over 16,000 patrons and 200 garlic-themed vendors. The Garlic and Herb Festival has been recognized as one of the top ten garlic festivals in the world, featured in Yankee Magazine and recently was awarded Vermont’s Time-Honored Top 10 Fall Event.
Due to the COVID pandemic and Vermont restrictions on festivals in 2020, the 25th annual “Garlicfest,” was canceled and the organizers, the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, pivoted to a different model of the event in a rebranded, “Garlic Town, USA” event in downtown Bennington. The event saw some 3,000 residents and travelers safely enjoy Sidewalk Sales, restaurant specials and bands, hay wagon rides, and multiple “Cloves” or pockets of garlic growing vendors sprinkled throughout the town.
This year the Southwestern Vermont Chamber promises nothing short of transforming Bennington into Garlic Town, USA once again! In coordination with the Town of Bennington and the Better Bennington Corporation, Bennington’s downtown program, “Garlic Town, USA” celebrates produce vendors, crafts, artisans, and the spirit of Garlic Fest throughout downtown Bennington.
What is free:
All of downtown Bennington will be open to the public. The event will have free entertainment all day long at the Splash Pad. Restaurants will be having specials and storefronts will have Sidewalk Sales. The Bennington Farmers’ Market will be open all day and hay wagon rides are available for free. Clove C will be free for entry and designated a “Family Clove” located right next to Ramunto’s Pizza and Valentine Street.
What costs money:
Depot Street, the former Bennington Station and former Tuttle Lot will be transformed into “Cloves” to represent Garlic Town, USA! These Cloves will require tickets to get into and will have garlic and produce growers and over 100 more vendors, food trucks, demonstrations and entertainment!
Cloves and Tickets:
Every Clove entry gate will have Garlic Town volunteers ready to scan digital Eventbrite tickets (purchased online) before patrons begin their day. For those needing assistance with purchasing a ticket or needing to pay for tickets in cash the Better Bennington Corporation, located at 215 South Street, will serve as ticket headquarters with volunteers ready to help.
The “all-access pass” tickets will give patrons entry to all of the Clove locations, and patrons may start at any Clove they wish and re-enter throughout the day. Each ticket booth at the entry of the Cloves will also have an info table with maps and vendor information, local visitor information, hand sanitizer stations, extra face masks, and a smiling volunteer ready to help with any other questions patrons may have.
Clove A (former Tuttle Lot) and Clove B (former Bennington Station lot) will transform with over 50 garlic, produce, craft and distilleries in each Clove. Tickets to get into these Cloves range from $5 a child, to $12 an adult and $30 for a family bundle (two adults, unlimited children) and are only available online. Tickets will be available online day of and can be accessed at www.GarlicTownUSA.com.
Clove Vendors:
New, as well as long-time favorite, garlic growers to the festival include Willowtree Organic Farm bringing fresh organic garlic and veggies, jams, roasted garlic salt, scape pesto, and garlic fudge; Phelps Woodside Farm providing organic grown garlic (German red, Carpathian, White Continental), raw honey products, garlic scape pesto, pickled garlic scapes and more; Quill Hill Farm is coming with seven varieties of garlic, powders, spice blends, braids, scapes, flowers and produce; Hawks Meadow Farm/Winter View Farm will also be there with pickled items (garlic, fiddleheads, garlic scapes), pesto, hummus, herb blends, honey products, beef and pork sticks, salsa, garlic biscuits, maple cream and more. Holmquest Farms will return with Holmes-grown fresh, as well as Buried Treasures Organic Farm bringing certified organic Music, Russian Red, and Chesknok garlic. Grá den Talún Farm will be providing over 50 different varieties of garlic from around the world, all grown organically in White Creek, New York; Hugick Farms will be selling hard neck garlic; MarJean Organic Garlic will have certified organic garlic farm from Mohawk, NY; Caltabiano Farms will have soft and hardneck garlic, braids, wreaths, fresh produce; Lindon Garlic Farm will have USDA certified organic garlic bulbs, powder, granules and chips, black garlic products, infused honey and syrups, garlic scape pesto, pickled products, jams, garlic bulb hats and more; and Conbeer's Farm will not only have plenty of garlic varieties but also dried soups, pickles, relishes, salsas, and berries. Argusville Farms will be offering German White and Red garlic; and Northeast Corner Herb Farm can’t wait to show patrons their herbal braids, garlic braids, seasonings, and dip mixes!
Some craft and produce vendor favorites are also returning including The Pickle Man, Arlotta Specialty Foods, Battenkill Wholesome Foods, Whalen’s Horseradish Products, Highland Farm, All Things Maple, Fortuna's Sausage & Italian Market and more!
Also located in each Clove, only to ticket holders, are a variety of food, snack and dessert trucks including: Bart’s Handcrafted Ice Cream, Brussel Boys, Burrito Revolution, The Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Junior’s Food Truck, Lemon Love, Nutty Bavarian, Sherri's Crab Cakes, Spacey Tracy's Pickles, Hound Dogs, The Hungry Traveler, M&J's Taste of Home, Pop's Corn, Reggae Boy Café, Sexy Llama Coffee Roasters, Wild Bill’s Soda, and Wagging Tails Traveling Treats.
Performances and Entertainment:
Local restaurants will be featuring live entertainment throughout the weekend. Kids and family-fun will be at the free “Clove C” (corner of Valentine and Main Street) and will include bouncy houses, ice cream, build-your-own stuffed animals, free take-home building kits from Home Depot, local nonprofit activities, and much more!
Free indoor activities will also be located inside The Gamer’s Grotto located at 457 Main Street and face painting will also be available.
Over at the Splash Pad, at the corner of Main and North Street, the Garlic Town organizers have booked the stage for the day with MOOSE CROSSING from 10am-12pm, The Bennington Traditional Jazz Band from 12:30pm-2pm, and Luminous Crush will close the event with music from 3:30 to 5pm.
Demonstrations
Garlic Town vendors will also be providing demonstrations for audiences inside the Cloves. At 11am Tony of Rolling Rock Salt (Clove B, Booth C8) will present a “Black Garlic Town Hall.” Also at 11am and 4pm Lauren of Vermont Macrame (Clove A, Booth D6) will present “DIY Macrame Plant Hangers.” At 1pm and 3pm Tina of Seven Barrels and East End Foods (Clove B, Booth D8) will present “Easy and Delicious Salad Dressings.” At noon and going until 2pm Rae of Rockerbox Spice Co (CloveA, Both GR7) will be presenting "Utilizing Spices to make Easy, Healthy Snacks and Sides." Beginning every hour on the hour Brian of Hugick Farms (Clove A, Booth GR6) will present “Growing and Processing Garlic at Home” and Vallis of Aunt Bonnie’s CBD (Clove A, Booth C6) will present “5 Ways To Take CBD.”
Parking and Transportation
Parking and transportation is free because of the generous sponsorship of Greater Heights Tree and Land Management. In order to keep downtown open to all the activities and people, the organizers are strongly encouraging those that do not live in the immediate downtown and/or are traveling in for the day to park at their designated parking lots. Designated parking lots include: the Grace Christian School and Willow Park parking lots (104 Kocher Drive), Ocean State Job Lot (99 Bennington Square), and the Chamber of Commerce and State Building (100 Veterans Memorial Drive).
Transportation from the parking lots will be free, private shuttles provided by Green Mountain Express. The event will have two to three shuttles running from 10am to 5:30pm day of. Stops will include: Grace Christian School and Willow Park (104 Kocher Drive), Ocean State Job Lot (99 Bennington Square), the Chamber of Commerce and State Building (100 Veterans Memorial Drive) bringing all patrons to downtown.
Once patrons are dropped off downtown, A&K Agriservices will be providing hay wagon rides to get from Clove to Clove and throughout downtown. Stops will include: Depot Street (for Clove A and Clove B access), School Street (for Main Street access), and Corner of Valentine Street and Main Street (for Clove C access).
Sidewalk Sales
The small shops of Bennington’s downtown will have sidewalk sales and have been encouraged to put some of their product and store outfront of their buildings to encourage people to shop and walk.
Local Restaurant Specials
Leading up to the week, area restaurants and dining establishments will be featuring various garlic-themed dishes for patrons as a special Garlic Restaurant Week in celebration of Garlic Town. See the website for participating restaurants and their specials.
Health and Safety
The Garlic Town, USA committee has been working with officials at the Vermont Department of Health and the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in preparation for this event. “We are trying to provide an event that people feel comfortable and safe to get back into social settings,” states Matt Harrington, executive director at the Chamber. “At every step of this new event, safety was top of mind. The committee leaders around the table were extremely sensitive about how to do this fun event while keeping up with the latest COVID protocols. We will have volunteers at every Clove and public gathering spots armed with PPE for patrons, and hand sanitizer. The Bennington Rescue Squad will be providing a free vaccine clinic day of. Mainly, we just want people to have fun and feel safe doing so.”
Map and Program
A map of all the cloves and various events throughout downtown will be featured in a program sponsored by the Bennington Rotary and is provided at www.GarlicTownUSA.com. The official program will be available throughout the week at the BBC and day of throughout the event. Ticket holders are encouraged to pick up a program and try to get to every Clove throughout the day.
Thank You Sponsors of the Event
Current sponsors for this event include: Presenting Sponsor Coggins Auto Group, Parking and Transportation Sponsor Greater Heights Tree and Land Management, Clove Sponsors The Bank of Bennington and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Media Sponsors The Bennington Banner and Old Mill Road Publishing, Host Sponsor TPW Real Estate, Small Business Sponsors People’s Bank, Northshire Insurance, KW Brenda Jones Real Estate Group, A&K Agriservices, Labrador Acres Lawn Services, The Vermont Mill, Shires Housing, Grass Roots Solar, GVH Studio and Ramunto’s Pizza.
This is the largest annual fundraiser for the Southwestern Vermont Chamber whose mission is to promote, lead and advocate a unified effort, on behalf of its members, to maintain and improve a healthy business climate and rewarding quality of life for the entire Shires of Southwestern Vermont region.
For more information on the event, visit: www.garlictownusa.com
Source: (Bennington, VT) -- Southwestern Vermont Chamber 8.30.2021 ExploreTheShires.com