Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival

Do you wish you could sample unusual and potent varieties of farm-fresh garlic? Think garlic ice cream sounds like a treat? Need to add a pair of garlic bulb earrings to your jewelry wardrobe? Always wanted to learn how to braid garlic? Dying to kick back with a garlic cocktail? Then, there's only one place for you to be on Labor Day Weekend: The Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in historic Bennington, Vermont.

In 2009, three generations of my family met up at this annual celebration of the versatile, flavorful bulb, and these photos will give you a sense of the fun for all ages that awaits at the two-day Garlic Festival (September 3 and 4 in 2016) with the motto: "Vermont Stinks!" A word of advice: Bring breath mints!

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Have a stinky Labor Day at the Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival, an annual garlic extravaganza in Bennington, VT.

Food purveyors at the annual Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in Bennington serve up a wide variety of garlicky dishes, from German Garlic Meatloaf Sandwiches...

...to Garlic Kettle Corn! Take advantage of the opportunity to taste a free sample if you can before you purchase garlic-loaded foods to consume or products to take home. We loved many of the things we tried, but the chocolate-covered bacon was a mistake!

At the Garlic Festival, you'll also find some "safe" food options if you're not adventurous or a huge garlic fan. Opt for something like 5 Cheese Garlic Pizza instead of garlic ice cream!

The Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in Bennington, Vermont, is more than just a garlic eating extravaganza! There's live music all day Saturday and Sunday on two stages. Plus, enjoy garlic cooking and craft demonstrations, growing talks and more.

The Garlic Festival in Vermont, a Labor Day Weekend tradition for 21 years as of 2016, offers plenty to entertain kids including giant inflatable amusements. My daughter caught quite a bit of air on this inflatable slide!

Slow, scenic rides aboard this little train were one of the most popular attractions for kids when my family visited the Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in Bennington, VT.

Need proof that kids don't need electronic gadgets to be thoroughly delighted and entertained? Turn your kids loose in the hay maze at the Vermont Garlic Festival.

Of course, by the end of the day, the little hay maze at the Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival becomes more of a loose mess of hay, and after your kids play hay monster, you'll be picking bits of hay out of your car for weeks.

We couldn't leave the Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival without taking a shot at Garlic Golf! Yes, that's a garlic bulb... not a golf ball.

My dad is the best golfer in our family, but a garlic hole-in-one eluded him. It's not easy to control the trajectory of a garlic bulb!

Before you decide to practice garlic golfing at home, make note of the fact that the garlic bulbs are wrapped tightly with rubber bands before they are struck with clubs. Otherwise, you'll spray vampire repellent all over your yard.