If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at growing garlic, which is one of life’s most rewarding endeavors, there is no better event to attend than the Cleveland Garlic Festival. The annual affair, which benefits the North Union Farmers Market, is a veritable roundup of growers, product and wisdom when it comes to the “stinking rose.”
On offer from numerous farmers is a dizzying array of garlic cultivars, all ideal for planting here in Northeast Ohio. In these parts, garlic is planted in fall and harvested sometime around mid-July. Each individual clove that’s planted develops into an entire head. Most growers reserve their biggest bulbs from the previous crop for planting, but for many others, it’s off to market we go for seed.
This year’s event at Shaker Square will take place noon-8 p.m. Saturday, August 27, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday, August 28. In addition to the garlic growers, there are tons of garlic-themed foods like garlic olive oil, garlic fries, garlic ice cream and garlic beer.
A highlight each year is the Top Chef Grill Offs, when local chefs go head to head preparing garlic-themed foods for the judges. There also is live music throughout the weekend as well as a craft beer tent, kid’s activities, and the crowning of Miss Garlic.
For more information or to purchase tickets click here.
This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 9, 2022.
