The free festival will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
“Because the festival is sponsored through Garlic, Inc., and therefore identified as a garlic festival, faithful followers of garlic festivals across the country may add Bloomington as a destination garlic festival site,” said Christi Holliday, a board member for Garlic, Inc.
Garlic, Inc. Executive Director David Cox said the main focus of the event is to teach children how to eat properly and make healthier choices.
“If we start them off with a good diet, they won’t eat garbage,” he said.
Cox said a dietitian will be at the festival and will teach visitors how to grow garlic.
There will be prepared chocolate chip garlic cookies for guests, he said.
“Once the kids taste the chocolate, they won’t even notice the garlic in the cookies,” he said.
Cox said he estimates 3,000 people will attend the festival, an increase from the 1,000 that attended in 2012.
He said he attributes this to people’s curiosity about the festival and the schedule of events they have planned for this year.
“I get asked why garlic all the time, but honestly, I just like garlic,” he said. “It’s healthy, and the goal of this whole weekend is getting kids to eat better foods.”
Jess Robinette, the volunteer coordinator of the festival, said she has helped with GarlicFEST since the inaugural festival and that each year it got better.
“It’s a great way to spend a weekend mingling with your neighbors, experience local art while enjoying local food and drinks and local music, all in all supporting your local businesses,” she said.
The event will feature the artwork of 37 local artists, and the art will be for sale, Cox said.
The joint festival offers an alternative opportunity for new or emerging artists who prefer smaller venues, and more than 30 visual art mediums will be featured this weekend, Holliday said.
There will also be music performances throughout the day, Cox said.
Bands include Fist Full of Bacon, the Dynamics and Soul Street.
“Whether it be a garlic bratwurst made especially for the festival by a local farmer or delicious dishes from Lennie’s or Bloomingfoods, there will be many choices to replenish energy for more dancing, admiring art and fun,” ?Holliday said.
Cox said the organization plans to make a music video teaching kids to think about what they eat with help from these ?musicians.
“Our motto is ‘If you can’t say it, don’t eat it,’ and that’s going to be the main message of the video and song,” he said. “When it’s done, we’re going to send it straight to Michelle Obama.”
Molly Liss, a sophomore majoring in dietetics and a member of IU’s Health NOW club, said it is absolutely crucial to encourage healthy eating as early as possible.
“Habits, like diet, for example, are formed while we are young, and we reinforce them more and more as we get older until we are set in our ways,” she said. “Give kids healthy foods to eat now and eating that food will become second nature.”
