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By Belle Crawford<\/p>\n
For tourists, October in Asheville may bring to mind red and gold leaves along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but for locals, October is quickly becoming a time of aioli, garlic cookies and beer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWNC Garlic Fest is now in its 7th year and has grown into a large and very garlicky event,\u201d says Chris Smith, executive director of the nonprofit The Utopian Seed Project (TUSP) and one of the festival\u2019s organizers. \u201cBut in many ways, the heart of the event hasn\u2019t changed from the first year when we had about 100 people in Sow True Seed\u2019s parking lot on Church Street.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, on Saturday, October 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., WNC Garlic Fest will bring its growing fanbase to the parking lot at Sow True Seed\u2019s current location on Haywood Street for a lively event that smells like no other. \u201cGarlic has at least a 5,000-year history alongside humans and has been found in the tombs of Tutankhamun and in Sumerian recipes from Mesopotamia,\u201d says Smith. \u201cIt\u2019s a ubiquitous cooking ingredient but also a powerful medicine. It\u2019s easy to grow and there are dozens of different varieties.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked why he thinks WNC Garlic Fest is so successful, Smith says, \u201cThere are few foods out there that inspire fanaticism, but garlic is one of them. Every year we are thrilled and excited at the outpouring of garlic lovers who flock to the event to experience garlic in all its glory.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A highlight of the event has always been the WNC Garlic Trail, where local vendors offer a garlicky sample for the willing garlic adventurer. The trail will have everything from garlic ice cream by The Hop and farm-made garlic butter from Root Bottom Farm. \u201cI don\u2019t want to give too much away, but in the past we\u2019ve had garlic kombucha, garlic beer, garlic lemonade, garlic chocolate, garlic hummus and other surprisingly delicious garlic pairings,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n
Festival proceeds support TUSP\u2019s work to celebrate diversity in food and farming in WNC. \u201cTUSP will be showcasing garlic varieties from their 2020\/21 crop trial with tastings and black garlic cookies for sale,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The only change to this year\u2019s festival will be implementing new public safety guidelines. \u201cWe\u2019ll be monitoring and following CDC COVID-19 protocols, but as an outdoor event, we anticipate a safe experience,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n
WNC Garlic Fest participants are also invited to shop Sow True Seed\u2019s garden and seed-focused retail store. Those who taste-test the many garlicky samples on the WNC Garlic Trail will also be offered breath mints for the ride home.<\/p>\n
Sow True Seed is located at 243 Haywood Street, in downtown Asheville. For more information, visit SowTrueSeed.com<\/a> and WNCGarlicFest.com<\/a>. For information about The Utopian Seed Project, visit UtopianSeed.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWNC Garlic Fest is now in its 7th year and has grown into a large and very garlicky event,\u201d says Chris Smith, executive director of the nonprofit The Utopian Seed Project (TUSP) and one of the festival\u2019s organizers. \u201cBut in many ways, the heart of the event hasn\u2019t changed from the first year when we had about 100 people in Sow True Seed\u2019s parking lot on Church Street.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":45760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\n