30 Jul Live Music Presented By Musideum
Enjoy free live music at the Toronto Garlic Festival Music Stage, Presented by Musideum; Curated by Donald Quan. For performer schedule scroll down for details.
Toronto Garlic Festival is Presented By Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission Dupont Subway Station
Live Music Presented By Musideum
Enjoy free live music at the Toronto Garlic Festival Music Stage, Presented by Musideum; Curated by Donald Quan. For performer schedule scroll down for details.
Enjoy free live music at the Toronto Garlic Festival Music Stage, Presented by Musideum; Curated by Donald Quan. For performer schedule scroll down for details.
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Garlic Breath Contest Sponsored By blogTO (ALL Day)
The Garlic Breath Contest, is a festival favorite where contestants celebrate their love for garlic in the most flavorful way! Indulge in delicious, garlicky foods before entering the contest, and see how you measure up—the...
The Garlic Breath Contest, is a festival favorite where contestants celebrate their love for garlic in the most flavorful way! Indulge in delicious, garlicky foods before entering the contest, and see how you measure up—the stronger your garlic breath, the higher your chances of winning fantastic prizes!To add a scientific twist to the fun we use the latest in gas detection technology to measure garlic breath in parts per billion.Join us for this unique and entertaining contest, where we celebrate garlic in all its flavorful glory! The Garlic Breath Contest runs all day. See you at the festival!
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Dina Belaia Face Painting and Caricatures
We are thrilled to have Dina Belaia returning as our treasured Garlic Face Painter at the Toronto Garlic Festival! Dina Belaia is a practicing artist who works as an illustrator, graphic designer, gallery exhibiting fine...
We are thrilled to have Dina Belaia returning as our treasured Garlic Face Painter at the Toronto Garlic Festival! Dina Belaia is a practicing artist who works as an illustrator, graphic designer, gallery exhibiting fine artist and a muralist. She is an Associate member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. In addition to fine art, she enhances peoples’ celebrations by face / body painting and caricature drawing. When Dina paints on human faces, she uses the safest cosmetic supplies; her paints and glitters will never bother even the youngest models (who may lick those supplies, or rub right into their eyes). Being an artist allows Dina to easily adapt for the most unusual themes and imagery, no matter how exotic the party may be.Dina will be providing free garlic-themed face painting and garlic caricatures at Toronto Garlic Festival.
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Garlic Poet Laureate Haley Sarfeld (All Day)
Visitors can expect witty, garlic-inspired wordplay from Poet Laureate Haley Sarfeld, with pungent puns, tangy tongue-twisters, and on-the-spot riffs. Each guest will leave with a personalized, handwritten (cursive!) poem — a fragrant keepsake from the...
Visitors can expect witty, garlic-inspired wordplay from Poet Laureate Haley Sarfeld, with pungent puns, tangy tongue-twisters, and on-the-spot riffs. Each guest will leave with a personalized, handwritten (cursive!) poem — a fragrant keepsake from the Toronto Garlic Festival.
BIO: Haley Sarfeld (she/they) is a writer, performer, poet, composer-lyricist, and all-around allium enthusiast living in Katarokwi/Kingston. Haley writes everything from crossword puzzles to theatre reviews to musicals about mythical serpents and neighbourhood cats, and she enjoys on-the-spot riffing with pungent puns and tangy tongue-twisters. In 2024, Haley was the recipient of a Nathan Cohen Award for Excellence in Theatre Criticism (Outstanding Emerging Critic), and she is honoured to be this year’s Garlic Poet Laureate at the Toronto Garlic Festival. Her favourite early summer snack is garlic scape pesto.
Photo credit: Donovan Perra (@donovan.perra)
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Free Garlic Shots (All Day)
Garlic Baristas offer free, fresh-pressed cloves of Ontario garlic to festival visitors, to add extra oomph and kapow to garlic dishes or, to get a leg up in the Garlic Breath Contest. Our Garlic Baristas get...
Garlic Baristas offer free, fresh-pressed cloves of Ontario garlic to festival visitors, to add extra oomph and kapow to garlic dishes or, to get a leg up in the Garlic Breath Contest. Our Garlic Baristas get a good workout from peeling and pressing garlic all day long to keep up with demand! Parsley and lemon at the ready if needed!
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Garlic Bulb Cracking Contest (All Day)
This is a contest that actually helps a farmer!Get ready for a hands-on and exciting challenge at the Toronto Garlic Festival’s Garlic Bulb Cracking Contest! This fun activity invites participants of all ages to test...
This is a contest that actually helps a farmer!Get ready for a hands-on and exciting challenge at the Toronto Garlic Festival’s Garlic Bulb Cracking Contest! This fun activity invites participants of all ages to test their speed and precision in cracking open a garlic bulb into individual cloves. The contest brings together friendly competition and a bit of garlic know-how! Plus, you’ll be doing farmer Farmer Marchand Lamare a favour. He is delivering 25 lbs of garlic for the contest. The garlic cloves cracked by participants will be cracked by contest participants will be picked up at the end of the day by Marchand and taken back to his farm for planting. Here's a 50 second video by Farmer Ali Baloch of Fresh Veggies Farm on how to crack a garlic bulb for planting.
Toronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Vampire Costume Contest (1:00 to 1:45PM)
Toronto Garlic Festival: Vampire Costume Contest, Judged by Bity-Bat Join us at the Toronto Garlic Festival Vampire Costume Contest for a fang-tastic time! Whether you’re a young vampire enthusiast or a seasoned bloodsucker, this contest has...
Toronto Garlic Festival: Vampire Costume Contest, Judged by Bity-Bat
Join us at the Toronto Garlic Festival Vampire Costume Contest for a fang-tastic time! Whether you’re a young vampire enthusiast or a seasoned bloodsucker, this contest has a category for everyone.Contest Categories
- Children (0 – 12 years): Individual
- Youth (13 – 18 years): Individual
- Adults (19+ years): Individual
- Groups (2+ people): All ages
Judging Criteria
Costumes are judged by Bitty-Bat on several key elements, including:- Originality: Whether the costume is store-bought, crafted, or a combination of both.
- Craftsmanship Accuracy: How closely it resembles the original character (if portraying a specific vampire).
- Craftsmanship Quality: The quality and attention to detail in sewing, painting, makeup, and overall fit.
- Technique: The use of a variety of difficult or creative skills.
- Time Invested: The effort put into creating the costume (e.g., more than one week vs. less than one week).
- Performance & Stage Presence: Creativity, entertainment value, and how well the costume is performed, including a potential reaction to garlic!
How to Participate
- Free to enter! Simply show up in your best vampire attire and wow the judges.
- The contest will run in rounds, with each category being judged separately. Prizes will be awarded after each category.
- Pre-registration Perk: Sign up ahead of time, and you’ll receive a free garlic bulb when you arrive in costume at the contest area. Sign up here:
Prizes:
The prize is…Ontario garlic. Why give garlic to a vampire? Exposure therapy — one bulb at a time until they can walk past an Italian restaurant without bursting into flames.Contest Date
- Sunday, September 28, 2025, from 1 to 1:45 pm
- Contest Location: The Music Stage at Toronto Garlic Festival
- Festival Location: It’s a streetfest. We’re closing Spadina Rd between Davenport Rd and Dupont St. Free admission to the Festival.
About Bitty-Bat
Bitty-Bat (pictured above) is a mischievous bat-like creature who has charmed audiences through performances at Toronto Sketchfest, Toronto Fringe, the Montreal Clown Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. This enigmatic character is the creation of Toronto-based actor and clown Emily Jeffers, who drew inspiration from the 1922 film Nosferatu, dancer Loie Fuller, the “Bat Child Found in Cave” from the Weekly World News, and other influences to develop Bitty-Bat’s unique look. Although she is usually a creature of few words, Bitty-Bat is delighted to speak (or squeak) as emcee at the Toronto Garlic Festival’s Vampire Costume Contest. Follow Bitty-Bat on Instagram! @bittybatshow Photo Credit: Elana EmerToronto Garlic Festival
Presented By
Dupont By the Castle BIA
Sunday, Sept 28, 2025 10 am to 5 pm FREE Admission
Dupont Subway Station
Culture Talks
A longstanding tradition at the Toronto Garlic Festival, the Culture Talks bring together farmers, scientists, historians, gardeners, and comics—each with a unique take on garlic. Talks start every hour and run for 25 minutes. First...
A longstanding tradition at the Toronto Garlic Festival, the Culture Talks bring together farmers, scientists, historians, gardeners, and comics—each with a unique take on garlic. Talks start every hour and run for 25 minutes. First talk at 10 AM. For details scroll to bottom of the home page.