I didn’t know Bethlehem, Connecticut hosted an annual garlic festival until a few days ago. Once I learned about it, my interest was immediately piqued—along with my desire to eat copious amounts of garlic.
My mom mentioned it casually, then spent the next ten minutes rattling off all the different food vendors and garlic varieties they’d have. That sealed the deal. Saturday, October 11th, we headed to the Bethlehem Garlic Festival.
The Drive to Bethlehem
The drive through Connecticut back roads to Bethlehem delivered classic New England scenery. Rolling hills, old farmhouses, the kind of winding roads that make you slow down and notice your surroundings. Eventually we arrived at the fairgrounds, and I was surprised—this wasn’t some tiny roadside event. This was a proper festival.
Tickets were $10 each. We parked on a big grass lawn that would later become muddy when the predicted afternoon rain arrived. But that morning? Blue skies and perfect fall weather.
Mom had checked her phone earlier and mentioned rain around 1-2 PM. Throughout the day, we watched clouds gather. She called it exactly right, but more on that later.
First Impressions and Garlic Monkey Bread
Walking into the festival wasn’t some grand gala entrance, but it felt welcoming enough. First stop? Garlic monkey bread from a vendor. We split it, both too excited to wait for anything else. Just wanted to sink our teeth into some garlic immediately.
The festival sprawled out larger than expected. Multiple vendor rows, food stalls, crafts, and garlic in every conceivable form. We had about an hour before meeting other family members, so we wandered the first row of vendors, trying not to see everything at once.
We entered a raffle supporting the Bethlehem Fairgrounds—big prize, good cause—then continued exploring. That’s when I sampled black vinegar garlic as a shot.
Let me tell you—that woke me up. Vinegar and garlic mix hitting like apple cider vinegar on steroids. Intense, sharp, definitely memorable.
The Garlic Hat Debate
One unique feature caught my attention: hand-stitched garlic hats. Six fat flaps sewn together with fake grass sprouting from the top. Ridiculous. Amazing. Forty dollars.
That price put them outside my budget for a one-time use hat. Maybe two-time use? I thought about wearing it to Portugal, then on beaches in Cambodia. The mental image alone almost justified the purchase. Maybe next year.
The Garlic Bulb Hunt
Eventually we found a vendor selling individual garlic cloves from around the world. This was the mission. Mom and I planned to buy multiple varieties, break them up, plant them all, and have copious amounts of garlic by early next summer.
They had varieties from everywhere—Vietnamese garlic, Russian reds, Ukrainian bulbs, purple varieties, even a giant elephant clove. We grabbed one bulb from different regions, building our international garlic collection for planting.
Vietnam represented. Ukraine represented. Russia represented. Our garden is going to be a United Nations of garlic.
Family Arrives
By this point, my sister and her family had arrived. We regrouped and did another loop together—nephews, nieces, brother-in-law, sister, mom, all of us sampling garlic in various forms.
I convinced my nephews to eat raw garlic cloves with me. We had terrible breath afterward, but it was fun. That’s what uncles are for, right? Bad influence garlic consumption.
Walking around as a family group, sampling different vendors, watching the kids react to various garlic intensities—this is what festivals are supposed to be. Not just the event itself, but the shared experience.
Lunch and Rain
Lunchtime arrived and the family scattered to find food. My sister dealt with kid logistics while Mom and I grabbed another slice of garlic bread from a vendor.
Then the rain started.
Right on schedule, just like Mom predicted. We decided to head out before it got worse. Back to the car, nice drive home, discussing our garlic-filled afternoon while the rain picked up.
Good timing. Today (Sunday) the sky is dark and rainy. We picked the right day for the Bethlehem Garlic Festival.
The Black Garlic Score
Before leaving, we picked up a bag of black garlic. If you’ve never tried black garlic, I recommend it. The process—technically a Maillard reaction where sugars break down—transforms normally pungent garlic into something sweet, almost candy-like.
Regular garlic: sharp, intense, breath-destroying.
Black garlic: sweet, mellow, complex.
The downside? It’s expensive. But worth trying at least once to understand how dramatically fermentation can transform flavor.
The Bethlehem Garlic Festival Experience
Location: Bethlehem, Connecticut
Date: October 11, 2025
Admission: $10
Parking: Grass lawn (free but muddy after rain)
Weather: Blue skies until 1-2 PM, then rain as predicted
The Bethlehem Connecticut Garlic Festival delivered exactly what it promised—garlic in every form imaginable, from food to plants to ridiculous hats. The festival size surprised me. The vendor variety impressed me. The garlic monkey bread satisfied me.
Going with family made it better. Sharing raw garlic cloves with nephews, discussing planting strategies with Mom, watching my sister wrangle kids while eating garlic bread—these moments matter more than the festival itself.
The Garlic Planting Project
We came home with international garlic bulbs ready for planting. The plan: break them up, get them in the ground before it gets too cold, let them overwinter, harvest next summer.
If everything works, we’ll have Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Russian, and giant elephant garlic growing in Connecticut soil. That’s the kind of agricultural experiment I can support.
Will they all survive Connecticut winter? Probably not all of them. But some will, and by early summer we’ll be harvesting our own diverse garlic crop. Then comes the real question—what to cook with all that garlic?
Final Thoughts on Garlic Festivals
Would I go again? Absolutely. The Bethlehem Garlic Festival offers a specific, focused event that delivers on its promise. You’re not getting a generic fair with one garlic tent. This is all garlic, all day, in every form.
For $10 admission and a drive through scenic Connecticut back roads, it’s an easy recommendation. Bring family. Sample everything. Buy some bulbs to plant. Consider the ridiculous hat.
And if someone offers you a black vinegar garlic shot? Take it. You’ll remember it.
What do you think of garlic or the Bethlehem Connecticut Garlic Festival? Love it? Avoid it? Let me know in the comments.