HOW A TWENTY-SOMETHING INTERN SURVIVED HIS FIRST GARLIC FEST
BENNINGTON, VT - I'll start of with this, I'm a sucker for an adventure. Adventure with music? Check. Adventure with music and food?? Double check. Adventure with music, food, and booze??? I'm sure you know what the answer to that one is. So when I was asked to report on the 21st annual Garlic Festival I was all in.
Being from South Florida I had never been able to experience any festival, because well, you can't even stand outside for more than 15 minutes at a time. Garlic Festival was everything I could've asked for at my first festival and so much more. It was a perfect day for anyone looking to spend a nice time walking around. So my friend Avery and I payed our small entrance fee. When we walked on those grounds a certain smell hit our nose, it definitely smelt like the place that I wanted to be.
First action of duty at Garlic Festival? Get a bearing of my surroundings. My trusty friend and I passed some cool vendors and awesome food trucks. The food which came in all ethnic cuisines including steaks, burritos, Caribbean, German, and even more made sure no patron of the festival was left without something to dine on. With over 200 vendors I started out visiting some of the cool tents like the Appalachian Distillery where I sampled some fantastic whiskey and smooth smooth Gi Next stop was the Angry Goat pepper Co. where I got to sample some hot jerky, and bought some of my own (boy was that jerky ridiculously hot and delicious). And I even tried some spicy Garlic which instantly burned my mouth, but definitely cleared up any sinus issues I had in the first 21 years of my life.
After walking around the tents for an hour or so, we stopped by the neighborhood pizza shop, Ramunto's, tent to grab some brews. Man they were packed all day long (I stopped by the restaurant later to have a calzone). What was so neat about the venue was that the live music was right next to all the food trucks. So you could get whatever food you want, like Oxtail and Collared greens from the Caribbean food stand, who made the trek all the way from Newburgh, NY to be at the Garlic Festival. So I got my beer, I got my food, and I listened to the band Funk in the Trunk, play some solid tunes. I loved that I got to see people dancing around and having a great time, I have to say, it was the most fun I've ever had at an event.
So to just recap, Bennington has struck gold with Garlic Festival, a great place to spend time with a spouse, your kids, or your family, and a place for people of all ages to have fun. I recommend going there, and if I had the chance to go this weekend and the weekend after I would totally go again and again. If you're in Bennington at the end of summer or beginning of fall this festival is a can't miss.
Next stop for me? Oktoberfest...
Chamber Media Project