Garlic lovers unite this weekend for the annual Long Island Garlic Festival on Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18 at Garden of Eve Organic Farm & Market in Riverhead. The festival that celebrates the onion family’s most pungent relative is now in its 13 year.
This tribute to ‘all things garlic’ includes eight varieties of fresh garlic to eat and plant, as well as garlic-inspired foods, live music, crafts, farm animals, pony rides, hay rides and much more.
Along with garlic-infused foods like jams, sauces and soups, there will also be garlic-inspired foods of the more unusual variety like garlic cookies, garlic tea, garlic fudge and the perennially popular, garlic ice cream.
“This festival is something that doesn’t have to be straight forward, we can have fun with it,” Garden of Eve co-owner Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht said. “We like that people come out to here be surprised by what we offer.”
Along with food vendors, music and farm animals, both days will include a Junior Garlic Iron Chef Competition for kids ages 10 to 18, a garlic eating contest, cooking with garlic demonstrations, plus how-to-grow garlic gardening demos.
“More and more people are trying to grow their own garlic now,” Kaplan-Walbrecht said. “They come out here to buy seed garlic, plus we also have a variety of organic garlic for sale.”
The Long Island Garlic Festival kicks off at 10 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5 per person, while children under 6 are free.
Garden of Eve Organic Farm and Market is located at 4558 Sound Avenue in Riverhead. For more information call (631) 722-8777 or visit gardenofevefarm.com.
