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Garlic Fest offers food, wine, and cook-offs
On Oct. 6, Centre Square in Easton will be stinking, thanks to the 2007 Easton Garlic Fest. The event will feature food sampling, wine tasting, chef demonstrations, and cook-offs, as well as a number of other activities, that will allow the local community to “Eat, Drink, Stink.”
Nine local restaurants will be competing in The Morning Call Garlic Gastric People’s Choice Awards for the coveted Garlic Bulb Trophy. Local chefs will prepare 300 samples of their dish for the public, who will be doing the judging. Community members will be able to sample these recipes and judge for $5.
Seven cooking demonstrations will also educate audiences on how to use garlic and audiences will be entertained by three Iron Chef-type cook-offs.
This year, wine makes its first appearance at Garlic Fest. People over 21 can partake in wine-tasting for $5.
There will be an appearance by Stinky (the Garlic Fest mascot) and Countess Garlicula. Countess Garlicula will arrive in her hearse and will appear near the Miller Memorial Blood Bank area where community members are encouraged to donate blood.
The fest also will feature appearances by the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (the new minor league baseball team), Max M. Call (company mascot of The Morning Call), and the Purple Cow (from the Purple Cow Creamery), who will provide the ceremonial first bite of garlic.
“When there’s food, there’s community and Easton is built with so many great places to get food,” says Joanne Moranville, owner of Quadrant Bookmart and Coffeehouse and one of the main planners for the event. “The Garlic Fest gives us a chance to take over the streets and have a good time.”
Elizabeth Wyant of Partyology also played a key role in the planning the event.
The Morning Call Stinkin’ Recipe Contest allows for community members to show their culinary skills. The prizes for first, second, and third place include Wegmans gift cards. All five finalists will receive a gift bag including items from Easton Farmers’ Market, Wegmans, and The Morning Call. The prize-winners must claim their prizes in person at Garlic Fest.
The Easton Garlic Fest Poster Design Contest will also allow local artists to express their creativity. The artist who designs the 2008 Easton Garlic Fest Collectible Art Poster will have his or her work featured on all Garlic Fest materials, including posters, t-shirts, and the program cover, as well receive a gift card to the State Theatre. More information about the poster contest can be found at the Easton Main Street Initiative’s website.
Garlic Fest takes place in conjunction with the Easton Farmers’ Market which is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May through Thanksgiving. It is the oldest, continuous open-air farmers’ market in the United States, established in 1752. The Farmers’ Market will be open all day during Garlic Fest.