“Overall, we were very pleased with the outcome. As we are first time vendors at this festival, we found the attendees very interested and intrigued with our Egyptian food, which was great, however, we realized that the amount of food which we made was not enough (we ran out of food by 2:30)…We also loved the broad variety of vendors which participated, as well as the layout of the grounds.”
—Amira Rahal, Mira’s Egyptian Kitchen
“Thank you so so much for having us! We were so honoured and you truly gave us our best business day we ever had. The event was so full and so much fun!”
—Dento Lam, Dento Dream Foods
“It was a wonderful experience and I’m sorry to hear there were issue with electrical set up outdoors. The communication and layout were great and I very much appreciate the opportunity to partake in the reusable dish ware and utensils program.”
— Jacqueline Lee, Sonyo Food Co
“Location, attendance, networking with other great vendors and guest turnout were top of list for us.”
— Michael Smith, Smithers Sausage
“Thank you for another amazing TGF. In spite of the rain, I had a lovely day, and, as always, the Toronto Garlic Festival staff and volunteers did a masterful job in overseeing it. The attendance, in spite of the weather, was a testament to how incredible a job they do.”
“The marketing was exemplary, we do a lot of festivals and I’ve never seen so much widespread coverage on Instagram, fb, media and blogs. It was very impressive.“
— Chef Jane Tran, Chau
“I’m so happy that garlic festival is back! We always did really good business there!”
— Ryan Gatner, When the Pig Came Home
“All of our Garlic is only sourced from Ontario, garlic will never be the same since participating in your events.
— Angelo Tramonti, Sarafino
“This important event heightens the understanding of the work of Ontario farmers and brings together the fabric of our diverse communities…the wonderful opportunities to see this product used in so many different ways does much to connect our common interests and all of us…the festival brings an eclectic group together: farmers, gardeners, chefs, scientists, health experts and many others. It is more than it seems…”
— Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
The Toronto Garlic Festival is one of the only festivals in Toronto where I really felt appreciated as an artist 😊💖. And they really appreciated all the artists!! The way everything was scheduled, done, compensated and even the goodie bags of garlic and garlic things was so nice too 💖💖💖 I loved DJing there, seeing the other performers eating DELICIOUS food and seeing all the cool possibilites with garlic 😃😃😃
— DJ Flavia Abadía, yourgirlflav
“The festival was really wonderful and I really appreciate that you allowed Ocean Wise to attend. I can honestly say that I have never spoken with so many inquisitive and engaged festival attendees and I even ran out of sustainable seafood information because the festival was in such a high attendance. Congratulations on such a successful event and I hope Ocean Wise can be involved in the future.”
— Isabella Sulpizio, Ocean Wise Coordinator, Eastern Canada
“…(Toronto Garlic Festival) it’s extraordinary. You get thousands of people coming through. They’re exchanging recipes. They have different products that use garlic and talk about…there’s an education piece to it…There’s a whole piece around the celebration of different culture and heritage”
— Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
“The feeling is so warm and positive to acknowledge the comments and complements from people from all over the Globe swarming the growing and diverse Toronto Garlic Festival each and every year.”
— Farmers Bob & Irene Romaniuk, Brant County Garlic Co, Scotland, Ontario
“Congratulations on conceiving of and executing to an ever higher standard these past few years. It is a great concept and one that, thankfully has growing meaning for citizens of our fair city. Have a great year!”
— Chef Jamie Kennedy, Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
“Big day at garlic festival. Sold out of bread, cultured black garlic butter, and almost out of garlic maple syrup.”
— Chef Noah Bedard, Drake Commissary
“The atmosphere was great. The attendees were extremely engaged. We distributed more printed materials than we normally do – in some cases in multiples of 10! Food sales also met our expectations.”
— Philly Markowitz, Grey County Economic Development, Local Food
“The location was positive, atmosphere was supportive, volunteers were passionate and helpful. many visitors were various ethnic groups who know or love about garlic, so it was very multi-cultural community actions that i think it helps dynamic cultural development in the hub of Toronto.
Well Done!!”
— Soyoung Lee, Samsara Fields
“That so many people still came out in the rain!”
— Shawn Stevens, Good Day Garlic
“Attracts the right crowd of people and a ton of them! Location is great as well! TONS of very helpful volunteers which made load in very easy for us.“
— Heather Cotie, Sarafino
“I just wanted to congratulate you on another phenomenal event yesterday. I realised yesterday how much TGF really feels like a festival! So much going on, tons of fun being had by all, great vibes everywhere. Thank you so much. And, of course, I appreciate the chance to get my garlic to the people, and to help people learn about growing it.“
— Daniel Hoffman, The Cutting Veg
“You have done an amazing job of growing your festival. The Toronto Garlic Festival draws a crowd that no other event attracts. The upscale, educated crowd that attends your festival makes it an exceptional event. You have managed to stay true to your roots and your mission statement while making the festival enjoyable for both exhibitors and attendees. You have made it affordable for all….A good value for both exhibitors and visitors.”
— Mark Holman, Moose River
“… You’ve put together a festival unlike any other we have been to. Your goal that everyone enjoy themselves was absolutely met… We were impressed with the constant stream of engaged people. Never before have I looked down a row of vendors to see each and every one of them packed with people with questions and smiling faces. “
— Chef Kristofir & Christopher, Vegiterra, Pop-Up Restaurant & Catering
“The day was a great success. Despite the looming weather there was a terrific turnout to the event and many were enlightened with the ways of garlic. We had a successful day although we ran out of biscuits by 1:30 and soup by 4:30.”
— Chef Donna Dooher, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
“This past year I attended as a garlic farmer and was amazed by the turnout and excitement all the attendees had about garlic…I loved the mix between garlic farmers, food vendors, beer vendors, workshops and chef demos. The products available for sale were of excellent quality.”
— Farmer Heather MacMillan, Little Trickle Farm, Douglas Ontario