Things are going to get pretty stinky down at the Big Yellow Merville hall on Sunday, Aug. 12, from noon to 4 p.m. as it is time for the seventh annual Garlic Fest.
The garlic sellers will have their wagons overflowing with cloves and scapes and will be eager to sell you every other form of farm produce that is now in season.
The Comox Valley is the Land of Plenty and it appears certain that the Merville hall is the hub of this large agricultural region. Garlic is a mainstay crop here and growers rally around the festival each year to be celebrated and to sell their saporously fine crop. This year, there will be more than a dozen different varieties of stinky garlic offered by farmers.
Food trucks will sell garlic-infused treats and the hall kitchen will surprise you with its culinary garlicky offerings. While nibbling you can listen to talented local musicians and stroll amid a variety of artisans with items for sale. Inside and outside the big hall, relax with a cool libation, breathe in the delightful aroma of garlic and indulge in a culinary offering of your choice.
There is no charge to attend Garlic Fest so come and check out the recent upgrades that have been made to the hall and grounds.
The 103-year-old “stolen” church is a dazzling, heritage whipple blue and there is a new community garden being established. Antique farm implements are being donated to the grounds to be displayed and a beautiful, floor-to-ceiling quilt has been hung inside the cavernous hall, courtesy of Courtenay Little Theatre.
Parking will be a snap with the new one-way exit from the lower field to the highway and the field has been freshly mowed thanks to Mike O and the sellers at the Monday Gumboot Farmers Market.
No early birds are allowed at the festival. For more details, vendor information and vendor sign up sheets are available on the Mervillehall.ca website. FMI: Arzeena – (250) 702-5657 or Craig 250-339-4249.