THE South Gippsland Garlic Festival (formerly the Meeniyan Garlic Festival) - Victoria’s biggest celebration of Australian garlic - will be held at its new home in the vibrant South Gippsland town of Korumburra during the Labour Day long weekend of Saturday, March 8, 2025.
The festival, which began in 2017 in Meeniyan (South Gippsland), will celebrate its fifth year in a new location (after a two year hiatus during the pandemic, and a year off in 2024), but with the same intention - to showcase and educate visitors about the huge array of garlic varieties grown in Australia, how to cultivate it at home, and how to use it in the kitchen.
Victoria is the perfect location for the event, as the state takes the lead in terms of production volume, with 32% of Australia’s total fresh garlic (874 tonnes, $6.8m value) grown here. Gippsland is also a hot spot for garlic growing, with the number of growers increasing year on year.
This year’s festival will host 80 stallholders, including a dedicated Garlic Street, featuring Aussie growers like Garlic Kingdom and Pure Garlic, who will be selling fresh and preserved garlic products. There will be food vendors cooking up garlic dishes, plus local chef demonstrations, and an educational hub headed up by the Australian Garlic Industry Association - the Garlic University - which includes a presentation by industry authority Penny Woodward, and a series of presentations on small farm and commercial growing.
The Garlic Festival Bar will also make a return, where Gippsland winemakers, brewers, and distilleries - including Fleet Wines, Gurneys Cider, Burra Brewing, Mates Gin - will pour perfectly paired beverages for attendees, plus live local entertainment on the Festival Stage, free kids activities including a visit from Bluey, and more.
This year’s Garlic Festival Kitchen, hosted by former Masterchef contestant and self-confessed garlic lover Simon Toohey, will welcome for the first time co-head chefs Jodie Odrowaz and Michael Clark from Messmates Dining in Warragul (recently awarded The Age Good Food Guide Regional Restaurant of the Year 2024), and Atsu Tanaka from local Korumburra Japanese café Tsuko (at The Coterie). Alejandro Saravia, Gippsland Food and Beverage Ambassador, and chef/owner of Farmers Daughters and Morena restaurants will also return to the Kitchen. During live demonstrations, the chefs will cook up their favourite allium-based dishes, delivering a variety of Aussie garlic, with recipes garlic lovers can then recreate at home.
And it doesn’t stop at the festival grounds - the entire town of Korumburra will join the celebrations, with pubs, cafes, breweries, bakeries, and small goods suppliers showcasing their own unique Aussie garlic creations and products on the day. John Olliff, Chair of the Australian Garlic Industry Association, and long-time garlic producer at Freshwater Creek Garlic, says the festival will be an educational hub, with presentations around growing, curing and storing garlic, plus a chance for punters to buy some of Australia’s best garlic straight from the source.
“This is such an exciting event for the Garlic Industry Association of Australia, it presents an opportunity to provide information to all levels of garlic growers, or simply garlic lovers, and will showcase the varieties and characteristics of our exceptional Australian grown garlic.
“Rarely do so many growers come together to showcase such a rich array of garlic cultivars, with so many different flavours and uses.
“The 2025 festival is shaping up to be the best yet!” said Olliff.
The town of Korumburra is only 90 minutes from Melbourne, so garlic lovers could make a day trip, or if you’re thinking about staying for the long weekend, why not also head to the Thorpdale Potato Festival on Sunday, March 9? Visit the website for more information and ticket availability.
What: South Gippsland Garlic Festival
When: Saturday, March 8, 2025 (Labour Day long weekend)
Where: Korumburra Showgrounds, Sanders Street
Time: 9am - 6pm
Tickets: Adults $15, children $5, family (2 adults 2 kids) $35, concession $10, children under 3 free
Parking: Surrounding streets
Dog friendly: Yes!
Tickets available now via southgippslandgarlicfestival.au
Instagram: @southgippslandgarlicfest
