Gilroy Garlic Festival canceled

GILROY, Calif. - It's the end of an odorous era as the Gilroy Garlic Festival will be canceled, festival organizers said. 

Instead, the Garlic Festival Association plans to hold a series of smaller, more intimate events to replace the huge festival, according to the Gilroy Dispatch. 

Those changes go into effect this year without allowing for a major fragrant finale in the South Bay.

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The pandemic and the skyrocketing insurance premiums were the driving reasons to cancel the event, organizers said. 

The famous Gilroy Garlic Festival is a 42-year-old tradition that celebrates the locally grown and world-renowned garlic crops.