THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 // 9
Attendees take advantage of a garlic photo opportunity at the Northwest Garlic Festival.
Another new vendor will be selling
magnetic jewelry and handing out gar-
lic recipes.
Festival history
Karen Boardman, Ocean Park Cham-
ber of Commerce office manager, always
gets the question: why do you do have
a garlic festival in June? Garlic doesn’t
harvest until August.
“We started because of the love of
garlic, not because we grow it here,” says
Boardman.
In 1980, Nanci Main and Jimella
Lucas purchased The Ark restaurant
in Nachotta, Wash. They wanted to do
something fun, and the Garlic Festival
was born.
The first festival was held in the
restaurant’s parking lot with food booths,
Northwest and Italian wines, live music,
a garlic costume contest, garlic relays
and garlic skits put on by the Peninsula
Playhouse.
The festival outgrew the Ark setting,
so Main and Lucas turned it over to the
community in 1988.
The festival moved to the field across
from the school in Ocean Park. The next
move took the festival to Beach Barons
Field.
The festival’s new location for the
past two years has been the Port of Pen-
insula in Nahcotta, Wash. This venue is
pet-friendly, and many of the vendors put
out large bowls of water for dogs.
“I like to say the Garlic Festival has
come home,” Boardman said.
Entertainment
The Clove Brothers, always popu-
lar with festival attendees, will be at this
year’s festival.
Live entertainment promises listening
enjoyment and dancing opportunities.
On Saturday, Brownsmead Flats will
play from 10-1 p.m. and Brianna Renae
will perform from 2-5 p.m.
On Sunday, June 16, the Ilwaco High
School Jazz Band will play from 10 a.m.-
noon and the Seymour Baker Band will
play from 1-4 p.m. CW
Baskets at the Northwest Garlic Festival.