Morgan Hill residents share a connection with annual Garlic
Festival Although Gilroy may be the Garlic Capital of the world,
many Morgan Hill residents feel a connection with the annual
festival celebrating the pungent herb. As tens of thousands of
people swarm upon Gilroy during the three days of the 27th annual
Garlic Festival, a small army of volunteers step up to keep the
celebration going and earn some money.
Although Gilroy may be the Garlic Capital of the world, many Morgan Hill residents feel a connection with the annual festival celebrating the pungent herb.
As tens of thousands of people swarm upon Gilroy during the three days of the 27th annual Garlic Festival, a small army of volunteers step up to keep the celebration going and earn some money.
While the number of volunteers for this year will not be known until after the event is over, several Morgan Hill groups have stepped up to lend their support.
Joann Kessler, assistant executive director for the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, said the association’s mission statement is to benefit local organizations primarily.
“Part of our mission statement says that we will benefit local nonprofits and charity events in Morgan Hill or Gilroy,” Kessler said. “There are volunteers who come from other areas, but it is our mission statement to benefit locals. We always have been inclusive.”
The Live Oak Band Booster for the Emerald Regime has worked the festival for about 25 years, and outgoing president Yvonne Melicker said it has become more than just a Gilroy-centered event.
“We have been doing this so many years, we definitely feel that we are a part of (the Garlic Festival),” Melicker said. “I think there is a mix of everybody (from South County) who volunteers. Sure it started in Gilroy, but it has spread.”
Local volunteers and businesses said the festival is one of the best ways they have to raise money for their groups.
“One hundred-twenty thousand people swarm on the place in three days,” Sandi Saenz, owner of Sandi’s Shaved Ice, explained why she is bringing back her shaved ice booth for the 24th time.
Saenz said when she started working at the festival, she would bring in volunteer groups so they could raise money for their organizations. When festival organizers forced booths to donate all their proceeds to the volunteers, Saenz only brought family members to work and made the booth purely for profit.
During the three days, Saenz said she makes about $4,000, if not more.
Volunteers are paid by the hour based on how much money is available. After the bills are paid, Kessler then sees how much is left over to dedicate to volunteers. She said over the past 10 years, they are paid between $5 and $6 per hour.
The money is used by many organizations as their biggest fundraiser of the year.
The Morgan Hill Police Explorers program travels to Gilroy to provide night security Thursday through Sunday during a 12-hour shift. The festival is their only paying job.
“They do it, I think, because they enjoy it,” said MHPD Detective Gary Cupps, who heads the explorers program in Morgan Hill. “They seem to have fun. It is less hectic during the evening.”
Each of the four days, eight of the 18 members, who range between 14 to 19 years old, work a 7pm-7am shift watching the grounds. The explorers are part of a larger mutual aid team which includes up to 12 other MHPD officers.
The explorers started working the Garlic Festival 18 years ago, but took five years off when they didn’t have enough participants to cover the shift.
Like the explorers, those who work at the Garlic Festival say they do it because it is fun, aside from making a few bucks in the process.
“When we’re (at the festival), the ambiance there is so great you don’t think about the hard work,” said Juan Aquino, grand knight of the Morgan Hill Knights of Columbus. “It is more of a celebration and at the same time… you are doing something good for the community.”
The Knights of Columbus will be out all day Saturday serving scampi in Gourmet Alley.
Wherever the volunteers are from, Kessler said the Garlic Festival could not be run without them.
“It truly is a volunteer-oriented event,” Kessler said. “If you go out to festival grounds a week before, it is just a city park. Then it is transformed into a festival. This event could not be done without volunteers. We have very special volunteers. So many come back year after year. Once the Garlic Festival gets into their blood, they’re there for the duration.”
Morgan Hill hotels are also feeling the impact of the Garlic Festival. They have been sold out for weeks leading up to the Garlic Festival.
David Dworkin, manager at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, said rooms all over the area are filled because of the different festivals or events this weekend. He said the hotel has been filled for the past two weeks.
And rooms that become suddenly available, are quickly taken.
“Technically, we are sold out,” said Frances Terei, front office manager with the Inn at Morgan Hill, which had two rooms available Friday morning. “When we get a cancellation, people are taking over the rooms quickly. Within an hour they are taken.”
Cheeto Barrera is an intern at the Morgan Hill Times. He can be reached at cb******@mo*************.com.
