It’s a celebration of the power of the clove: The nonprofit Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace will hold a Garlic Festival from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, at the Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane.
“The mission of this garden is to preserve and celebrate the history of agriculture in the Santa Cruz River Valley. We want to keep history alive, and garlic has been part of the food heritage and traditions in all of the cultures in our region. It was brought by the Spanish and introduced to the Tohono O’odham people and grown by people of African descent, the Yoeme, the Chinese, Mexican people and other cultures that have farmed in the Tucson Basin over time,” said Emily Rockey, coordinator of the Garlic Festival.
The festival will showcase a dozen varieties of garlic grown in the Mission Garden’s different “timeline gardens” located at the base of “A” Mountain on land that was christened S-cuk Ṣon by the O’odham. Known as the “birthplace of Tucson,” the site has seen 4,100 years of continuous cultivation archaeologists have documented.
Garlic Festival attendees can purchase garlic for culinary use and for planting in home gardens; I’itoi onions for planting and seed packets from Native Seeds/SEARCH will also be available. Additionally, the Garden Shop will offer 50 loaves of Barrio Bread made with garlic grown at the garden (limit one per customer). Other festivities include tastings of raw, sautéed and roasted specialty garlics (Chinese, Italian and Mexican) and a drawing for a basket of garlic-related products.
The event will also feature produce and garlic from farmers, including Breckenfeld Family Growers and Dreamflower Garden.
“We really want to get people excited about growing garlic. We also want to amplify and support other growers in this area who are continuing to cultivate these crops; they are wonderful resources for the community,” said Rockey.
Additionally, Tucson Chocolate will offer garlic ice cream, and the nonprofit Iskashitaa Refugee Network will feature prepared garlic goods.
“Ishkashitaa serves the refugee community and utilizes green garlic from local farms to create products they sell. Many different cultures have come to the Santa Cruz River Valley in the past and the refugee community are part of the present and future. There are lots of folks moving here from other parts of the world and we welcome their knowledge and traditions and want to learn about the crops they have grown. This is all about people, history, plants and food. Who doesn’t like those things?” said Rockey.
The gardens serve as a living, growing classroom for all ages, according to intern Millen Kalb, a sophomore at BASIS Tucson North.
Kalb, who began volunteering at Mission Garden eight months ago, will assist at the festival. He is one of more than 200 volunteers and docents who facilitate operations at the nonprofit garden.
Kalb said he has enjoyed opportunities to learn about the history of the area through gardening and to work with the public at classes and special events such as the recent mesquite pod milling festival.
“The people at the garden and the volunteers here are great. Their philosophy is really cool. It is admirable how far they are willing to go to preserve Tucson’s heritage. These traditional cultures are important and it is good to honor and respect them and make sure we don’t forget them,” said Kalb.
The Mission Garden Project is run by the non-profit, Friends of Tucson's Birthplace. Located west of downtown, it features Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit orchards and vegetable gardens interpreting 4,000 years of agriculture in Tucson. Video by: Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
