Local Businesses See Boost with Garlic Festival

If you’re lucky enough to be in the hotel business during the Gilroy Garlic Festival, this weekend should be a good one.

Or the gasoline business. Or the restaurant business. Or the you-name-it business. 

That’s because the more than 100,000 people expected to attend this year’s festival will be a boon to local retailers and service providers, said Susan Valenta, president of the

As a point of reference—the entire population of Gilroy is 49,391, according to

“The festival generates a strong trickle-down effect in the local economy,” she said, “When you have 100,000-plus coming into your community, it’s going to have an effect.”

When the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association looked closely at the economic impact of the festival in the early 1990s, it found that visitors brought approximately $7 million into the local economy.

That number has likely changed dramatically over the past two decades. Though it’s hard to determine the exact amount of growth, more families—and more disposable income—have been coming to the festival, said Joann Kessler, assistant executive director of the festival association.

“They have more spending power,” Kessler said, comparing the families to a younger demographic that was common during the time of the study.

While there may not be an exact figure, Kessler said that the impact is easy to see, with hotel rooms booked from Gilroy to Morgan Hill and beyond.

“We’re pretty much sold out,” said Mary Pastorini, director of sales at the in Gilroy. 

Rooms for the Garlic Festival weekend were nearly sold out by the end of June, Pastorini said. Many of those staying are involved with the festival itself.

"There are people that are coming into town before the festival and saying after the festival,” said Kessler.

With so many people coming to Gilroy, many for the first time, Valenta said that it was important that the town leave a good impression.

“When somebody comes to the festival, we are introducing them to our community,” the chamber president said, “It’s important for us to have the welcome mat out all the time.”