The 15th Annual Garlic Fest & Craft Show

This year marked the 15th year of the annual Garlic Fest and Craft Show in Chehalis.  Held at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, last years event attracted 19,000 attendees.  With the wonderful weather we’ve been experiencing, I wouldn’t be surprised if this years attendance surpasses that.

Kate and I were Chehalis-bound anyway for a family function, and we picked up my sister and nephew on the way.  None of us had ever attended the Garlic Fest but we were excited to finally make it to one.

We pulled into the parking lot a little after 11 a.m. on Saturday.  The festival was held on Aug. 26-28, Friday through Sunday.  Even though the gates had just opened at 10 a.m., the parking lot was filling quickly so we were directed to park out in a field and make the trek back to the entrance.

This is one of the only festivals I have attended this summer that charged admission, albeit a modest one.  Adults were $5, children 7 and under free.

The admission price was worth it.  This festival was packed with food and craft vendors.  Free samples were everywhere and there was an amazing variety of foods.  Various bands provided music throughout the day.  Cooking demonstrations were held and there were games and face painting for the little ones.  There was even a beer garden that boasted a garlic beer from Centralia’s own Dick’s Brewing Company.

The first thing we noticed upon entry was the enticing aroma of roasted garlic drifting from the food vendors that seemed to be everywhere.  Here is a list of just some of the garlic-themed foods that tempted us.

We were to have lunch with our family a little later so it was excruciating to pass by all these alluring offerings.  But free samples don’t count, right?  We only tried a fraction of them, among them garlic-basil jelly, Butterfinger caramel apple, raspberry-chocolate jam, garlic barley soup, garlic-chili-lime mini donuts, and coconut masala sauce.

We let the kids pick one snack and they chose an elephant ear.  The enormous elephant ears were offered with garlic butter and parmesan cheese or with the traditional cinnamon and sugar.  No amount of cajoling could sway them from the sweet option so I didn’t get to try what sounded like a heavenly version of garlic cheese bread. 

I choose my snack – a waffle cone of garlic ice cream.  I brought back 4 spoons on the off chance that my compadres would like to try it and to my surprise, they all did.  It was agreed that while it wasn’t terrible, we don’t see this going on the permanent menu at your local ice cream shop.  The garlic flavor was mild but built up a bit with each bite.  The best word I can think of to describe it is “odd.”

We had to leave, with great reluctance, after about an hour to make it to our next social obligation.  Next year we will definitely make this a priority and bring the whole family for a day of entertainment and garlic-infused fun.

The only thing missing from this festival was a breath mint vendor stationed at the exit!