Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival

For the foodie, garlic lover or fair-goer! Go with a desire to eat! If you are one with discerning taste this is a festival for you! Many varieties of fresh garlic to sample and purchase. Hand-crafted, small batches and artisans alike will capture your senses! Yum! From roasted garlic bread to garlic ice cream and everything culinary in between, there’s something for everyone. Additional vendors include amazing specialty coffee and espresso drinks by demitasse specialty coffee & espresso, Cousins lobster rolls and chowder, Wave Hill breads & pastries, and lots more!

Many vendors to purchase food items from. The garlic monkey bread 😋. There are a few rides for the kids to enjoy, a bit overpriced, so we skipped it. A nice variety of food trucks to choose from. The parking is good if it didn't rain, otherwise it's a muddy mess! In the past, I've seen all sorts of vehicles stuck in the mud, plan your trip accordingly.

Total waste of time & money. $10 each to get in to, basically a food truck festival. Plus, good luck getting any food since the lines were 20+ people deep. Minimal Artisans available. Basically a commercialized events for food trucks & non-artisan vendors. Not going ever again.

The weather was awful but the Garlic fest was AWESOME!! We had so much FUN. The vendors, the food and the people were fun, knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Kudos to the people of Bethlehem....lots of hard work but well done. Hope we can return in the future but a 1500 mile trip won't happen every year.

Such a fun local fair! Focused on agriculture and crafts, with some really fun food options. Enjoyed fried pickles, garlic sliders and pad thai. Pulled pork looked amazing but didn't have time to try. There was a whole pig roasting on the grill too! Lots of fresh garlic for sale all around the fair, local honey, spices, homemade soaps and wooden spoons and cutting boards, and other hand crafted items. Vendors were very friendly! Fair runs from 10 am - 5 pm and you still have time to visit one of the local vineyards afterwards ( Bethlehem or Haight Brown ). Worth the trip!

Awesome garlic fest. More food trucks than you can imagine or at least more food trucks than I have ever seen in one location. 85 heads to plant 🧄

Great time. If you like garlic this is the place to get it. Vendors are great also and the food🤠. You have to try the pull pork.

A one stop shop for all things garlic! Plenty of vendors, good food, and to top it off garlic ice cream! Will definitely be returning again!

this was my first garlic fest and i literally had the time of my life. when they say they're over 200+ vendors, they seriously mean it!! it took me an hour just to browse around before really like stopping at the places i wanted to, it was incredible! they had so many unique booths and i got to try so many samples ranging from black garlic, garlic chocolate bark, garlic fudge, garlic vinegar, garlic cheese, so much more, i was in absolute heaven. all the non garlic vendors were also soo good, my bank account was definitely balling out this weekend, haha! can't wait for next year!

"Brains in the pot, they're beginning to boil They're dripping with garlic and olive oil" (Bob Dylan) What did we find at the Bethlehem Garlic & Harvest Festival? More than we could possibly imagine! Everything from A to Z: Argusville Farms fresh garlic Biscotti & Beyond Cousins Maine Lobster Donna's Sewing Extreme Peelers Faddy's Donuts Great Minds Coffee Roasters Happy Camper Mushrooms In Stitches and Stuff Jersey Pickles Knot of This World Pretzels Laura's Raw Honey Micalizzi'a Italian Ice Nectar of the Vine Oronoque Farms Bakery Peanut Principle Quest for the Beasties Rockerbox Spice Company Saltbox Seasonings Thai Place Restaurant Underground Truffles Chocolate Vintage Times Maps Wildwood Granola Xtra Hot Sauces from a multitude of vendors Yankee Hot Pepper Products Zillions of other things It was our first visit here and we were very surprised at the sheer size of the festival. We saw carnival rides, carnival games, children's activities, two stages of live music, booths from 26 garlic growers, 97 Specialty Food Stands, 8 Soap vendors, 14 Food Court vendors, 60 craft vendors, 16 Snack Food Vendors, 12 Jewelry vendors, and 9 "miscellaneous" vendors. We walked around for an hour and picked up an eclectic group of stuff -a chili soup mix, a cinnamon chocolate chip bread, a salted caramel coconut beer blondie, a salted pretzel knot, two Asian dumplings, and a cup of chocolate Italian ices. It was outstanding, simply outstanding.

My 3rd year going and must say it's always a great time. So many vendors to check out snd samples to try. Every year is about the same. Usually is the same vendors. You Might find new vendors with new products and others that you wish were still there! There will be booths selling a wide variety of things, not just garlic. Fresh breads, pickles, fresh made soaps, crystals , fudge , pies and more! I got to try garlic ice cream, and it sure was interesting. The stand is usually there! Also for food.. so Much to choose from. There is something for everyone! Vendors take cards and others will only take cash or accept both. So just take cash incase! Such a great fair to go to that is once a year!

Time has changes things for the Garlic Festival soooo much to loooooooook at ..... all your senses will thank you. Bring Cash for the Local vendors and most will take cards. Great people from Colossal Kabasa from the church of Saint Joseph's in Bristol Lillys jewelry from Avon Italian cold cuts and meats from Brooklyn New York lots of great farms locally from Plymouth twin Pines farm also other farms from Massachusetts Vermont Vermont cheeses sharp cheeses wow I'm telling you you gotta go skip Saturday....Torrington Artists Great People working and Sharing their Passion.

The last time I was here, it wasn't really a big event, there wasn't too many people, and I wondered if it would continue on in the years to come. Now, about 5-6 years later, I am so glad and very impressed to see how big this festival has become! It has grown exponentially and I was so surprised to see as many people in attendance as I saw yesterday. If you love garlic, you will love this event. There are garlic cooking demonstrations, garlic growing demonstrations, as well as garlic infused EVERYTHING. Peanut butter, oils, vinegars, pickles, even cookies and ice cream, all with a garlicky spin. Most of the vendors offer free samples, but it can be hard to get to some tables because they are so packed. The food court offers garlic themed foods as well as other options, so if you are all garlicked out, you can choose to have a burger or a burrito if you choose. I'm so happy to see how this event has grown over the years. I will be back next year!

Very nice venue. Holy Garlic! Delicious food and cool vendors! I'm not sure about the admission charge since its a fair really. Would be 5 stars if were free. I mean no one charges for carnivals or farmers markets.

First of all, this event is a LOT bigger than I anticipated, and lines were already getting crazy at 10am when it opened to the public. Expected, I guess, seeing how the bleak weather probably prevented folks from going yesterday (rainy fairground = so much mud). Regardless of the uncomfortably packed festival, I was so impressed with the variety of vendors, samples, and overall location. In its 10th year, the CT Garlic Fest has continued to be both fascinating and delicious in so many ways. From garlic cooking demos to garlic planting seminars, to even garlic pistachio ice cream, it's safe to say there was something for everything (assuming you like garlic). Of course, not everything is garlic related - jewelry vendors, soap-makers, wood workers and all kinds of local artisans sold their wares throughout the day, and tons of food vendors advertised plenty of non-garlicky food from typical fried festival fare, to donuts, cider, crepes, Mexican, Vietnamese, and Polish cuisine (to name just a few). I left with a lovely rosemary-mint goats milk soap from a Granby Farm, a jar of roasted garlic confit, and an absurdly full belly. I'll be counting down the months 'til next year's festival!

My first time visiting, 2015 marks the Eleventh Annual Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival. We got there opening day at about noon and I was completely blown away. Despite the large crowds, the annoying lines moved fairly quickly. Beyond that though, I was so shocked and impressed at this festival. Market vendors, food trucks, games/rides -- there was a lot of fun things to do, check-out, and how could I forget...EAT! There was garlic everything! Dips, spreads, cheeses, oils, even cookies! We tried it all :) Unlike most fairs, almost all of the vendors allowed sampling before you buy. In fact, you couldn't go to a vendor without leaving them having you sampling something delicious. Garlic cooking demonstrations, live band performance, informative lectures on growing garlic, produce stands, carnival rides -- there was something for everyone. The food court was awesome. Offerings included things like homemade roasted garlic sausage with peppers and onions, garlic marinated steak sandwiches, garlic roast pork sandwiches, deep fried garlic, and garlic ice cream! We opted for these HUGE fresh dill pickles, a Gypsy King burger (grass-fed beef topped with kielbasa, nut-free vegan pesto, roasted peppers & onions, lettuce & tomato), deep fried pickles, beef kabobs, and roasted artichoke hearts. There was defnitely non-garlicky food available too if you were garlic-drunk (Mexican, Polish, Thai, Vietnamese) just to name a few. Everything was so damn delicious. We ended up leaving with some garlic vinegar, vintage jewelery, and 2 fat food babies. This festival was really cool, I can't wait to come back next year! October 10-11, 2015 Time: 10:00AM - 5:00PM Admission Prices: $8-adults, $7-seniors, $1-children under 12

I have been going to this garlic festival every year and it keeps getting bigger. If you are a lover of garlic this is the place to be. Garlic nirvana will be had by all. Remember that if you have plans to anywhere after this venture people standing near you may say "why do I keep smelling garlic". Ha ha its because you ate a bunch and its coming out your pores. Tell them if you want, maybe they will join you there next year! They have venders selling all kinds of garlic related items from garlic itself to garlic pickles, mustards, vinegars, sauces, dressings and beyond. They sell many varieties of garlic amongst the different venders and you can sample all of the varieties raw at the various stalls. Some varieties are very mild and some are very spicy and linger on the palate. FYI buy some different varieties this garlic will last longer if you store it properly and its new england local fresh garlic not the crap you get in the grocery store that is ancient and is sent over from china. They have a food court full of garlic eats ranging from garlic fries, burgers, sausages loaded with whole garlic cloves stuffed right into the casings, garlic roasted beef sandwiches, pad Thai & Banh Mi! Go early because if you don't you will be standing in line for quite a while waiting to pay your $7.00 entrance fee. The festival is always in the beginning of the month of October and on both Sat & Sun starting at10:00am and ending around 5:00pm. So if your a garlic lover make a note on your calendar!!

Waited almost an hour creeping down a 3 miles long line on the road trying to getin The fairgrounds were over run with people.... Couldn't get to booths to try samples. Looooong line for food vendors. People with no consideration... at one point an emergency medical cart with lights flashing and sounding it's horn was trying to get through, and people didn't move. Absolutely NOT worth going here.

Great event for the entire family. Food, rides and crafts. There is something for everyone. There is free parking and fast moving lines to get into the festival. Be sure to try the garlic ice cream.

Every year, the Garlic Festival gets bigger and bigger, and eventually will be the same size as the Bethlehem Fair. It's located on the Bethlehem Fair grounds, which means hillside parking. Bring four wheel drive if it's been wet. Sometimes they have brochures at events preceding it, like the Bethlehem Fair, which will have a $1 coupon. Make sure to grab one for yourself to help save on admission! In addition to getting bigger, the head count of attendees goes up as well. The one downside is sometimes it can be like swimming through a sea of people, and you have to *respectfully* insert yourself to sample at the different vendors. The garlic ice cream is a must try life experience, and there's lots of other garlicky goodness from cloves of garlic to garlic cannolis. It's a lot of fun for everyone of every taste, because even if garlic isn't your thing, there's peanut butter, mushrooms, jewelry, dog treats, etc. Again, be respectful, and don't hog the samples people!

This is by far our favorite festival/market we've ever attended in Connecticut, and that's saying a lot, as we've been to a ton of them in the area! First of all, the event was much bigger than we had expected it to be, considering we hadn't heard much about it in advance. We arrived with low expectations, as we assumed there were only so many ways to exploit garlic at an event haha. And boy, were we wrong! Such a pleasant surprise! The food court was phenomenal. We had the chance to try garlic ice cream, garlic-chocolate chip cookies, and garlic pork and beef kabobs. And tons and tons of pickles...oh, the pickles! One of the unassuming standouts of the day was Yona's Gourmet Delights. I don't normally gravitate towards Middle Eastern pastries/sweets, as they're usually too sticky/sweet for my palate. But we decided to give Yona's a try because we spotted a huge assortment of savory bites, and I'm glad we did! The borekas/puff pastries were light, flavorful, and super affordable!

Been coming here for years! We always look forward to this festival. If you love garlic it's definitely a must. We also usually know at least a few of the vendors, whether it be from our hometown or from other events. There is a lot of fun things to sample and vendors of all types. The food court has a nice variety of different stuff for everyone's tastes. The festival is also kid friendly with kids activities and a few rides. There are cooking and gardening demos. Also many of the vendors let you try before you buy. Be prepared to wear walking shoes since the pathways are gravel and you will want to check out all you can. The garlic ice cream is a must try!

My favorite species of the onion genus is more than deserving of its own festival, but this particular one has room for improvement. Admission was reasonable-- well under $10, though I can't remember the exact figure, and there were a number of great vendors. However, there weren't nearly as many vendors as I thought there would be, based on the list they published online, and I simply wasn't interested in the majority of them. Most booths seemed like typical cheesy fairgrounds fare-- home-crocheted American Girl doll dresses and the like. Certainly the vendors that dealt exclusively in garlic products were the best of the bunch, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention "Can't Beet It"-- a family-run company that sells a beet and horseradish condiment that was not garlic related, but delicious nonetheless. (Fellow beet enthusiasts may be interested to know you can purchase the stuff at Whole Foods in West Hartford, Glastonbury and Hadley and Cambridge, Mass, as well as a bunch of other places in New England that are listed on their website: http://www.cantbeetit.com/.) There was a garlic ice cream for sale, but I couldn't pull the trigger. It was unseasonably hot for October, and I knew that if I bought it and didn't like it, I was going to be bummed that I didn't go for something more refreshing. The food court area featured quite a few options-- probably 12 or 15 total-- and I bought fried garlic cloves (hey, when in Rome...) and a pulled pork sandwich that was not that great. We actually got home and realized we were out of garlic, and kicked ourselves for not picking some up there-- every imaginable variety was on sale! Although the festival didn't quite live up to my expectations, I'd like to give it another try next year. It's possible that I would have enjoyed it if the atmosphere had felt more autumnal, as opposed to feeling like August in Bermuda.

The variety and quality of vendors were great and ticket takers very pleasant. I loved the maple cotton candy. LOTS OF GREAT LOOKING PRODUCE. HOWEVER the parking was HORRENDOUS. The police did a nice job getting traffic in and off the main street. But there were 6-7 people directing the traffic flow of approx. 1500 cars that led to mass confusion. Cars were triple parked, cars randomly parked at the end of traffic lanes leading to bottlenecks. 1 person directed a car to an exit lane by sending them across a mud path that resulted in the vehicle getting stuck and a tractor had to be used to pull the vehicle out of the mud (while all 4 occupants of the car were inside).

I come here every year. They are expanding. More vendors, greater variety, wonderful artisans. I bought garlic boar bacon, wood crafted electronic device stands, cheese curds, sweet soppresata, mushrooms, and of course garlic. Highly recommended for lovers of garlic, harvest season, shopping, mushrooms, and more!

When I lived out west one of the items in my Fun Bucket was the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, CA (Garlic Capital of the World), so when I heard there was one in CT I was beyond excited! We went on the last day, a gorgeous day and not ridiculously crowded so it was a very pleasant experience. Yes there were lots of garlic items, but there were also a lot of non garlic items. The food court I think was my biggest disappointment. It was more non garlic based than garlic based and I never found the garlic ice cream and my boyfriend never found the garlic soup both advertised in the brochure yet nowhere to be found. We sampled pretty much everything and bought mixes, dips, oils, roasted garlic bread loaf and even giant wine glasses. We did have a very good time and would probably attend again but it wasn't nearly as garlic focused as I would have expected from a garlic festival. My one suggestion however is leave the kids at home, this festival will be much more appreciated by adults. In addition, the rides/carnival section will cost you a small fortune

Been going here every year, just keeps getting bigger every year. This is so much fun. Only thing missing was garlic headz :-(. Wanted to buy some stuff from them. Left at 2 on Sunday and there was lines of cars still going there

The large festival is a nice way to spend a fun day in the countryside. At the entrance are some high priced carnival rides for children. Skip that nuisance and move on to the food tents and entertainment. A lot of farms and local vendors set up booths selling garlic, jarred foods, spice mixes, arts and crafts. Not everything in the fair is garlic related. There are samples everywhere - raw garlic, cracker dips, and cheese spreads were the most prevalent. The best thing to do is stop and talk to the vendors, particularly the garlic farmers. There are several varieties, each with a different taste. Even the same garlic variety will taste different when sampled from different farms due to soil differences. Taste your way through the fair before settling on which farm you'll buy from. The downside of the fair is that not everything is garlic related. If you've been to the annual garlic festival in Gilroy you'll find this comes up short. Almost all the hot, ready to eat food is sold from food trucks using their normal everyday menus. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, french fries, and roast beef sandwiches have nothing to do with garlic. Only one food stall sold garlic pasta - that was the only cooked food on the fairgrounds that lived up to the theme of the fair. SUGGESTION FOR NEXT YEAR: If you invite food trucks to the fair, they should at least put something on their menu that screams "Garlic"!! Even a piece of warm garlic bread instead of french fries would be a move in the right direction.

Not a huge fan of this place as far as a garlic festival. We still had a good time, good food, kids enjoyed the rides, but its not set up where all the garlic vendors are together, they are spread out. This gives it a lack of garlic festival feel,like the one up in Saugerties has. Also, they have an address on the website, that is not the address to the fairgrounds. I think its to the organizers house- a bunch of us were lost there, driving up and down the road, till I came across a neighbor that sent me in the right direction, so make sure you map to the fairgrounds.

Took my family there, had a good time. Loved the food and the arts and crafts. I would definitely go again.