Inaugural California Garlic Festival debuts at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds

Move over, asparagus. There's a new flavor in town.

The California Garlic Festival debuted Aug. 13-14 at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. Garlic fries, garlic pesto pasta, and maple brown sugar garlic ice cream were just a few of the items on the menu.

The two-day event featured many entertainment options for festivalgoers, including a car show, interactive cooking demonstrations, live performances by local musicians, carnival rides, and a petting zoo.

Maurice Kelly of Richmond admired a turquoise Porsche with gold wheels at the "Show and Shine Car Display." He said the car display, which included hot rods, muscle cars and low-riders, was his favorite part of the festival.

"If I had the money, I would buy this car for my mother and my wife," he said. "The paint job is immaculate."

Maurice Kelly said he did not regret traveling from Richmond to Stockton for the festival.

"Much props to Stockton," he said. "It seems like the community is coming up. I love the atmosphere here today. Seeing people of all ages, the cultures. It's a great time."

His wife, Angie Kelly, agreed.

"I'm enjoying the beautiful cars, the great food," she said.

James and Ardria Weston recently moved from Los Angeles to Manteca. James Weston said he saw an online advertisement for the festival and convinced his wife, Ardria Weston, to go with him.

"I love the car display, the people seem nice, and I'm just soaking it all in," he said.

Ardria Weston said she appreciated the mix of cultures at the festival, from the different types of cuisine offered to the music that was played.

"It's inclusive," she said. "You get to experience a little bit of everybody's culture and see what their culture's about."

Jeanette Greco of Stockton found interest in the interactive cooking demonstrations, like other foodies who attended the festival.

"I'm interested in learning about different ways to cook with garlic," Greco said. "I'm a big garlic fan."

Greco watched as chef Steve Grant, former owner of Stockton diner Chuck's Hamburgers, taught audience members how to make tortellini with olive oil and garlic sauce, and biscuits with garlic and parmesan seasoning.

Grant told the crowd that it was his goal to show them how to cook easy, garlic-infused dishes that won't take too much time to prepare. He also shared a recipe for garlic bread grilled cheese sandwiches.

Greco said she thought the interactive cooking demonstrations were entertaining and she is happy with her experience at the festival overall.

"I went to a garlic festival in Gilroy a long, long, long time ago, but I'm really glad we have one in Stockton now," Greco said.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: California Garlic Festival debuts in Stockton at fairgrounds