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We are thrilled to share the news that the beloved Garlic and Arts Festival will celebrate its 26th consecutive year on September 28th and 29th in 2024!  We look forward to gathering with you again next fall.

Another wonderful festival on the field, in spite of the rain and mud.  Everyone made the best of it and the joy on the field was wonderful to behold.  What a spectacular weekend! Thank you to all the volunteers, attendees, and organizers who keep coming together year after year to celebrate the bounty of the North Quabbin region. Celebrate! Thrive! What a great 25!

And the Organizers followed up with a Party!  Great food, warm fires, a disco ball, and dancing.   A champagne toast to joy and peace in coming years.  And Bruce taught us how to believe in miracles.

 

 

 

 

 

Kindness and cooperation are beautiful things, as exemplified in the clean up day after the Festival where a great crew arrived to put the Festival back to sleep until next year.

Work Party 2023

 

 

 

 

 

More post-fest follow-up with the Recycling Crew.  Bags of recycling collected at the festival were delivered to ClearView Compost. 

 

 

 

 

 

And the crew assembled to do the sorting.

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to all for your wonderful comments from attendees and vendors!  It means so much to the organizers, all volunteer, volunteers, and vendors to get this positive feedback! –Especially after having to make so many twists and turns to get you all in safely given the unexpected and major flooding and mud.

In addition to celebrating 25 years of the Festival, we also celebrated the many changes that have been made in the town of Orange and the surrounding area during this time.  Start the North Quabbin Journey with us and remember the positive changes that have been brought into being by local organizations and leaders.

Twenty five years ago we dreamed up an idea to celebrate the beauty and bounty of our region, so often-overlooked, and ignite the cultural and agricultural economy of the North Quabbin. Today, more than ever, people of all walks of life need places to come together in celebration and gain inspiration for resilient lives and communities, and a saner world.   We are grateful to you for showing up and helping all of us get inspired once again!  In celebration, here are some (25 actually) fun behind-the-scenes facts about the festival.

The family friendly “festival that stinks” is renowned for exceptional art, local farm products, fabulous food, endless entertainment, and inspiration for a hopeful future. Held on a historic farm amid fall foliage, the event attracts and unites many thousands locally and across New England. 

Great music, entertainment, and spoken word emanates from three stages and the rolling fields. The line-up of performers is testimony to the culturally diverse and abundant talents of the region. Over 100 bountiful booths feature regional artists, farmers, community organizations, and healing arts; everyone can strengthen the economy by purchasing locally crafted and grown! Participants travel the garlic globe in the chef demo tent, and filled their bellies with farm fresh and savory cuisine in four food courts.

Over fifty engaging workshops and demos, activities and performances will be scheduled throughout the weekend. Garlic games abound on the main field, including the famous raw garlic-eating contest. Kids love the free art-making tent! Orange is the New Green: trash free (less than three bags for 8,000 people!) with everything else recycled or transformed into fertile compost to make gardens not garbage. Free drinking water is provided, and souvenir refillable water bottles are sold, along with an artist-designed festival tee shirt. The ‘Portal to the Future’ at the North end of the festival site is the place to visit for all things renewable energy, with inspiring local living workshops all weekend. Electric Vehicles (EV) from cars to tractors to bikes will be scheduled through the weekend. Get excited and get ready!

There is something for everyone at this family-friendly fall event, held on a beautiful historic farm amidst autumn foliage.  To get a feeling for the flavor, and aroma, of the festival, check out the photos from the past.  In 2020 we held a Virtual Festival which you can see on our YouTube channel.  Read this if you are wondering Who Puts the Festival On, Where the Money Goes, and Whose Land Hosts It.

Kindness, community and inspiration are always in style at this popular destination that attracts lovers of art and alliums from throughout New England.  This short video captures the spirit and values of the Festival.

Mission Statement:  The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival is a celebration of the artistic, agricultural and cultural bounty of the region. The purpose of the festival is to unite North Quabbin people whose livelihoods are connected to the land and the arts, and to invite both local residents and those who do not live in the region to experience the richness of an area that is often overlooked.

The festival emphasizes what is homegrown, handmade and high quality, as well as what helps preserve and support the environment and the community. Everyone involved – organizers, exhibitors, volunteers, performers, attendees, a supportive community – makes the festival what it is: an engaging, fun and educational celebration for all ages.

An all-volunteer committee composed of neighbors, artists, farmers, and community members meets year-round to organize The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival. The Forster/ Stewart Family graciously hosts the festival at their beautiful, historic farm, and the festival is a non-profit event under the umbrella of Seeds of Solidarity Education Center. Over 200 volunteers the weekend of the event park, welcome, recycle, and support exhibitors; and exhibitors contribute time to raise tents, feed work crews, and more to help bring the festival to fruition.

The festival admission is kept affordable to families, and is used to cover the costs of the festival, as well as support local projects that promote a vibrant North Quabbin region.