Organizers of the tenth annual Garlic Festival at the Triangle T Guest Ranch in Dragoon, Arizona, are rethinking their garlic ice cream this year.
Rather than offering two flavors, mild and strong garlic, at the festivities starting at 10 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday, the ranch has opted to stick strictly to the milder option.
Lenore Demers, one of the coordinators of the garlic fest, said while the milder ice cream always does well, the stronger garlic ice cream tends to be too much for festivalgoers.
“It is something you might try once, but you aren’t going to finish the cup,” Demers said. “It’s just too much.”
Beyond the ice cream, the Triangle T Garlic Festival has much to offer.
Based loosely on the Gilroy Garlic Festival, one of the largest food festivals in the country, held the last weekend in July each year, the garlic fest in Dragoon, about 60 miles east of Tucson, has plenty to offer.
More than 50 vendors will be on-hand, selling everything from smoked cheeses and gourmet seasoning salt to Navajo jewelry and Mata Ortiz pottery.
There will be live music both days and several food trucks will be on-site, in addition to the ranch’s restaurant, which will stay open after the festival closes at 4 p.m.
“We are encouraging all of our food trucks to have at least one menu item with garlic as an ingredient,” Demers said.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that offers programs and services for wounded veterans.
Demers said the festival has always been more about giving than garlic.
“Even in the beginning, when it was a small event, that was the identity of the festival,” she said. “It was always an expression from the heart.”
