AN AMAZING STORY of the PEOPLE and the EVENT that gave GILROY a LEGACY of COMMUNITY PRIDE !

The GILROY GARLIC FESTIVAL PLAYBOOK :

Attendance

AN AMAZING STORY of COMMUNITY THAT STARTED IN THE

SUMMER OF 1978 WITH A FEW VERY AMBITIOUS

Queen Aisha COMMUNITY Zaza

MEMBERS AND A DREAM . OVER FORTY

YEARS LATER , IT HAS

GIVEN GILROY A LEGACY OF

COMMUNITY PRIDE .

Year Twenty-Seven2005

129,644 What Was New Demonstration Stage ( Sponsored by Calpalon ) Garlic Queen Becomes President ( First ) Second Combo Plate Added ( Gourmet Alley )

Volunteer Mike Zukowski ( Parking Appreciation of Service Award Majid Bahriny

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day in the life of the Garlic Festival ’ s president is never still . That ’ s one thing that Jennifer Speno , the event ’ s 2005 president , learned over the weekend as she circled the festival grounds , moving from chairperson to chairperson as she coordinated the festival ’ s 27 separate committees .

“ We ’ ve had problems , but they ’ re great problems to have ,” Speno said , referring to long lines and ticket shortages that occurred Saturday .

The petite mom of two and former Garlic Festival queen was an unstoppable blur , darting to help with ticket recycling , free water stations and other on-demand tasks during the busy weekend , but the real stress for Speno began last year , she said , when she realized that the entire festival , run by John Zekanoski in 2004 , would soon be

Art Poster by Jennifer Lau , New York

The 2005 board of directors consisted of Jennifer Speno ( president ), Micki

Pirozzoli ( vice-president ), Judy Lazarus ( secretary ), Steve Welch ( treasurer ), John Zekanoski (

past president ), Hugh Davis ( director ), Dave Sebald ( director ), Kristen Carr ( director ), and

Jeff

Martin ( director ).

her responsibility . The stress level hasn ’ t dropped , according to past president Jeff Martin .

“ If I know Jennifer , the stress level went up then and it won ’ t come down

1 until this is all over ,” Martin said , sweeping his hand across the crowd .

The festival ’ s run had been positive Friday and Saturday , but Speno wouldn ’ t let herself get too excited on Sunday . She had a feeling something stressful – perhaps a repeat of Saturday ’ s rush – would happen .

At 2:30pm it did . Festival gate number one , situated in an area cut off from communications by dodgy radio and cell phone reception , was running low on child / senior tickets and Speno , unable to reach anyone by radio , took off for the gate ’ s stand to assess the situation in person . Ducking onto back roads that skirted vending stations and

dodging between refuse e bins and volunteers as she sped across the length of the festival grounds , she reached the gate in time to begin recycling tickets , directing volunteers and calling on help from festival directors scattered throughout the park . “ Once Friday comes , the festival takes on a life of its own ,” Speno said .

“ Our job is to make sure committees

work together , but our real work is through the year – the decisions and meetings .” One of Speno ’ s tougher decisions centered on the festival ’ s transportation costs . In 2004 , the group spent more than $ 65,000 on transit t , shuttling atten- dants to and from the grounds , and the board was looking for ways to cut costs in 2005 . “ One way to save was to go without air conditioning on the busses , but we decided to spend a little more to keep people happy ,” Speno said . “ We wanted to keep costs down , but we also wanted to keep a balance between what was necessary and what was going to benefit our community .”

The same thought guided Speno and the rest of the committee when the Milk Advisory Board pulled funding for their “ Got Milk ?” concert stage just months before the event .

Instead of dipping into volunteer proceeds to pay performers , they made the stage into a karaoke stand , and found a sleeper of a hit . The tent was packed before noon . But even the close of the festival didn ’ t slow the list of challenges in Speno ’ s mind .

“ I think one of our biggest challenges will be after the festival ,” Speno said . “ We had the loss of ( longtime executive director ) Dick Nicholls this year and we ’ re looking at getting a new executive director by January . That person will have to come in and get acquainted with a staff that ’ s been there for years and the community that drives this festival .”

The work of a past president is never done , according to festival past president John Zekanoski , but work on the committee can wait long after the festival ’ s final cleanup is done Wednesday . Right now , Speno ’ s mind is on a long-overdue vacation .

“ Every year , a few of us from the festival go to Lake Shasta to go houseboating ,” Speno said . “ The biggest decision we make when we go is which drink to have next .”

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Help us make this the best representation of the event that put Gilroy on the map and had a positive impact on so many Gilroyans .

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( to be available in magazine and book formats ) will highlight the fun and excitement of the Garlic Festival over the past forty plus years and the people who made it successful year after year . From beginning to end , it ' s pages will portray the festival as it was ; an acceptional opportunity for Gilroy to be known on the world stage as the " Garlic Capital of the World .”

WE ' RE LOOKING FOR : Photos from 1981 to 2006 Fond Memories Fun Facts & Happenings Offsite event ( s ) Information & Photos Memorabilia

If you have something to share , contact us : Larry or J . Chris Mickartz phone 408.848.6540 email infopwr2 @ garlic . com

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN WINTER 2021 gmhtoday . com

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