PRESENTED BY
Highlights of the Sept 29, 2024 Toronto Garlic Festival
Free Admission – Thanks to our partner Dupont By the Castle BIA!
New Location and Record Breaking Attendance–We closed Spadina Road between Davenport Rd and Dupont Street, and welcomed 10,000 visitors!
Culinary Delights – Dishes and Condiments created exclusively for the Festival included Garlic Confit Nested Focaccia, Black Garlic Pierogi, and Sweet & Spicy Buckwheat Honey with Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Ontario Garlic and Lemongrass. Cuisines included Caribbean-Chinese, Chinese, Colombian, Congolese, Dutch, Egyptian, Ethiopian, French, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Tibetan, Turkish, Trinidad and Vietnamese.
Ontario Garlic Galore – Ontario farmers arrived with their garlic in braids, bunches and bushels. Dozens of strains and varieties of garlic were piled high on vendor tables, from festival favourite Music (a Porcelain strain) to the rare Rose Lautrec, and Black Garlic, a fermented delicacy sought after by chocolate makers.
Culture Talks – Engaging Talks & Workshops included “Garlic in Toronto’s History,” “Black Garlic Innovation,” and “Vampires, Garlic, and Pop Culture.”
Live Music – all day performances included African Mbira and Storytelling, Mexican Reggae, Eclectic violin and World Music, Jazz, and Traditional Brazilian Samba.
Garlic Bulb Cracking Contest – in a contest that helps the farmer, contestants competed against the clock to crack open garlic bulbs donated by GarlicLoves farm. The cracked cloves were returned to the farmer for planting.
Vampire Costume Contest – Contestants of all ages arrived in their creative costumes. There was even a canine category!
Garlic Breath Contest – The popular garlic breath contest returned, with top readings reaching 2,000 parts per billion! (it appears that some contestants cheated)
Waldorf Kids’ Activities – Kids enjoyed garlic-themed games, interactive workshops and Face Painting.
Garlic Poetry – Visitors took home personalised garlic-inspired poems from our Garlic Poet Laureate.
Sustainability – Visitors appreciated placing their dishes in the dish reuse stations. And thanks to our “Don’t Stink and Drive” campaign, more than half of visitors came by foot, bike and public transit.
Interested in partnering or sponsoring for 2025? We are interested in working with partners that support Ontario agriculture, food producers, tourism and culture. Please reach us at info@torontogarlicfestival.ca
Don’t miss the 2025 Toronto Garlic Festival! Sign up for our newsletter and follow us in fb, instagram and twitter
TORONTO GARLIC FESTIVAL - AS SEEN IN
