Sunday

Gilroy Garlic Festival is Coming

Gilroy Garlic Festival
  The Gilroy Garlic Festival is coming back on July 27, 28, and 29 so get your taste buds ready for  all the garlic they can handle.  So whether it's garlic meatballs or your standard garlic fries or the ever popular Garlic ice cream they will have it all at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This is the 34th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival so they know how to put together a festival that garlic lovers will enjoy and I think you will find something here for everyone. The location of the garlic festival is at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy Ca. So it will be easy to find just off Hwy. 101 30 miles South of San Jose and 30 miles North of Salinas once again on Hwy. 101.

Gilroy Garlic Festival Gourmet Alley
     At the Gilroy Garlic Festival the they have taken great care to pick vendors that provide some of the best garlic infused recipes around and you will not be disappointed. I know chocolate with garlic doesn't really sound the best but you will go back for seconds. Gourmet Alley is really what the garlic festival is all about, it's really the food that's why everyone comes from the guests to the vendors. They all want to see what the next person has done with garlic to make it that next great recipe. Not to mention the Great Garlic Festival Recipe Contest and Cook off.
Music and Entertainment
     This is one of my favorite parts of the weekend is the music they always have great bands playing at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. There will be many different bands and musicians playing every day  either on stage or simply strolling around the festival area so you will never be far from musical entertainment. The different types of music are Blues, Country, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Reggae and a lot more.
Bands And Musicians at Gilroy Garlic Festival
Stompy Jones     Bombshell Bullys      The Coffis Brothers and the Mountain Men

Metal Shop     The Jesse Charles Band     Dolce Musica         Donald Elvis and the Hound Dogs

Poor Mans Poison     Sean Wiggins and Lone Goat      Jessica Johnon     Motel Drive

Los High Tops   Elliot Randall    Joshua Paige     Lucas Ohio and the Shamblers   The Element

Barry Kauffman  Central Coast Sax    Red Beans and Rice  Derek Jameson   Shane White

Sexy Black   Chains Required   Avi Wisnia   On The Rox   John Garcia Band    Brad Wilson

The Corvairs  Mild Storm Band   John Pardi   Dustin Lynch   Due West   Drive  JJ Hawg

Barry Kaufmann   Rayburn Brothers Band   Five Minutes to Freedom  Finding Stella

Aja Vu  Take 2  California Blues Machine   Just Off Turner   MR Band aka MansRuin Band

Mason Dougas  The Floor Shakers   The Department of Rock  Unfinished Business

Wow that's some list of musicians and as you can see there is something for everyone here.
Something for The Kids 
     There is definitely stuff for your kids to do at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. There is the Home Depot Project Center where your kids can build projects and take them home there are booths with games and live entertainment and also don't forget a treasure hunt as well. The different live shows change everyday so you may want to schedule when you come based on what shows you think your child will be interested in.

Gilroy Garlic Festival Discount Tickets
Gilroy Garlic Festival Discount Tickets are available until the day of the event online or you can buy them at local merchants. These Discount Tickets will save you two to four dollars off the normal price of a Gilroy Garlic Festival ticket so get the discount either through the above link or the local merchants. So get your tickets and I will see you at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

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Thursday

Monterey 4th of July

Monterey 4th of July
Monterey 4th of JulyThe Parade in on. Thanks to an effort led by  the Old Monterey Business Association the Fourth of July Parade is back on in Monterey. It was abandoned a couple of years ago along with the fireworks out over the bay simply due to the budget cuts in the city at the time. It's pretty hard to spend so much on fireworks when you are at the same time laying off employees. But, now with this effort led by the Old Monterey Business Association and a couple of large donors the parade is back on. The city will still have the large lawn party that they have continued to have at Colton hall which has become a tradition in itself. But they will also now have the parade again starting at 10 a.m. with a former Navy Seal Team parachute jump onto Alvarado Street. From there the parade will wind down Alvarado and  Then to Calle Principal and go back to Pearl Street.
The Monterey City Lawn Party
The Monterey City Lawn Party will be running from about 11:00 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. There will be lots of music and lots of different things for the kids to do. Several thousand people have shown up in the past so when you hear it described as the city lawn party it's because the whole city is out there having a good time celebrating the 4th of July. There is also a Monterey Pops concert which is free of charge at the Golden State Theatre 417 Alvarado St. Monterey.  

Spreckels 4th of July Events
No Fireworks Show in Monterey
Once again there will be no fireworks show in Monterey. However instead The Monterey Bay Symphony will perform patriotic music with a laser light show at Jack's Park starting at 8 p.m. If you want to get there early the park opens at 6. I have seen the Monterey Bay Symphony and I believe this will be a great show. It won't be fireworks but I think it can be the beginning of a new tradition in Monterey. One of the problems with fireworks over the bay in the past was that it was always foggy and you only saw the faint glow of the fireworks not the real thing so this might be a great alternative.
Buy an American Flag and Pole Kit for Your Home

How To Get Tickets To the Laser Light Show 
     The Monterey Laser Light Show tickets are free. Great deal right but how do you get your tickets. Well if you go to the Colton Hall lawn party they will be passing out 1500 free tickets. Then that evening they will be passing out 1500 more free tickets at Jack's park for a total of 3,000 free tickets. So If you for sure want to get into the laser light show then I would definitely go to the Colton Hall Lawn party that will give you a better chance.

 Brilliant Flag, a photo by OldOnliner on Flickr.

Sunday

Monterey Farmers Market

Monterey Farmers Market
Monterey Farmers Market     There are a few different farmer's markets in Monterey but if you tell someone you are going to the Monterey Farmers Market they will automatically think you mean the Old Monterey Farmers Market on Alvarado Street. If you are talking to a local they will just call it Tuesday Night Market.
Monterey Farmers Market or Tuesday night market came about in 1991 so it's been around for a long time. It runs rain or shine and winter or summer so you always know hey it's Tuesday night let's go down to the market. This has become the place to find your locally and far away grown produce. Because let's face it it's not a farmers market without produce. But, also they sell handmade art and pastries. Some local Bakeries have the best garlic bread for sale every week.
Tuesday Night Market
     The great thing about Tuesday night market is the people. I mean just a ton of people all going from one booth to another doing their shopping and seeing old friends and making new ones along the way. Tuesday night market has sort of become a ritual place to people watch or to be watched. Let's face it there can be up to nine or ten thousand people in a four block area on an average Tuesday night in the summer. It can also be a place to meet your mate I have a few friends that when you ask them where they met it's always the Tuesday night market. So if you are in town on a Tuesday come check out the market you will find something you like
 Farmers Market i Monterey, a photo by wa.pean on Flickr.

Wednesday

Tarpy's Roadhouse Celebrating 20 Years of Memories

Tarpy's is Celebrating
     Tarpy's Roadhouse is celebrating 20 years on October 07 2012. You know the place. Tarpy's holds a special place in the hearts of many Monterey residents and visitors from all over the world. The reason for that, is it's not just that nice restaurant on Hwy 68 but it's this place where all the big things in your life have been celebrated and commiserated. Tarpy's is the place you first got to roll up to in a limo with your date for prom or the place where you daughter got married at the little chapel. Or it might even be the first bar your friends took you out too when your girlfriend broke up with you in college. You knew I would get to that commiserating part. For some of us Tarpy's Roadhouse was that first or second job during the summer we were home from college and the staff became like family. So the memories are the reason this simple restaurant with the paper covering the tables so every kid can leave a masterpiece with the crayons that are supplied is bigger than just a restaurant. Thanks Tarpy's for the memories and Happy twentieth Birthday keep up the good work and keep the memories coming for another generation.
Tarpy's 20'th Anniversary Celebration
October 07, 2012 from 12:00 - 3:00 P.M. enjoy great food live music and Monterey County Wine. There will be face painting and arts and crafts for the kids so there is something for everyone at this event.

Saturday

Alegiant Air Hawaii Deal

Alegiant Air Hawaii Deal
Alegiant air is one of the airlines that flies out of the Moneterey airport. They are offering a deal on flights to Hawaii. The deal is a pretty good one it's $199.00 one way. So it's basically $400.00 plus fees round trip unless you just happen to need a one way ticket to Hawaii. Now for the fine print. These tickets must be purchased by June 05, 2012 for flights occurring before January 05, 2013. So, if these dates work for you and you feel like seeing Hawaii this year and who doesn't you should take advantage of this deal. 
Alegiant Air Expanding
This whole Monterey to Hawaii travel deal is in line with Alegiant air's expansion. They are a regional airline flying out of smaller airports like Monterey, Fresno Ca, and Bellingham Washington. Overall this can only be a good thing for the traveling public to have one more option to get to Hawaii with more competition there will be cheaper prices.