The park was divided between local restaurant vendors selling garlic-incorporated foods and musicians playing in an outdoor amphitheater, GarlicFest, Inc. volunteers teaching people how to grow garlic and utilize its health benefits, local artists selling a variety of wares and a beer garden.
The event is a yearly celebration put on by the local nonprofit organization GarlicFest, Inc.
Under a blue tent, Michael Hicks sold several different varieties of garlic. He said his garlic has more heat and flavor than the kind bought in a grocery store. Hicks is the owner of Living Roots Ecovillage, a community project that sits on 75 acres of land and combines farming with sustainable living.
“We do a lot of natural building and healing arts,” he said. “It’s about holistic living, it’s about whole living and just healthy living.”
Hicks has been involved with GarlicFest from the beginning, and though he said garlic is one of Living Roots’ main crops, it isn’t the only thing growing on the four acres reserved for planting. Hicks said the farm yields about 300 varieties of produce.
“You name it, we grow it,” he said.
The farm is a sub-business of the Ecovillage, which offers apprenticeships, work exchange and memberships. Hicks said those who live there integrate farmwork with yoga, massage and healthy cooking and eating.
Health education and celebration are essentially the goals of GarlicFest, said Crystal Olry, a registered dietitian who is on the GarlicFest, Inc. board and spent the weekend demonstrating to festival-goers how to successfully grow garlic at home.
“The whole event is about supporting clean, local food,” she said.
David Cox, one of the founders of both the nonprofit and the event, and Steve Hedges, GarlicFest, Inc.’s attorney, said recent USDA research has pointed to a few undeniable health benefits related to consuming garlic.
According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, garlic contains a sulphur compound that regulates blood pressure and helps cardiovascular health. The food can also lower cholesterol.
“It’s good for you,” he said, “and it tastes good, and it makes everything you eat taste good.”
Cox said the board has been planning the 2015 GarlicFest since last September. Between about 38 volunteers, 34,000 hours of work was put into organizing the event. The nonprofit also received support from local restaurants, including vendors Turkuaz Café and Lennie’s Asian Popup. Hedges said he helped bring Cox and another Bloomington citizen, Chris Martin, together.
Martin wanted to provide an opportunity for local artists to showcase and sell their work, and Cox wanted to create a garlic festival that also included music and food. After Hedges introduced the two, the merger of garlic, art and music was born.
Cox said the organization is already planning next year’s festival.
