ISLAND EXCURSIONS
Festival to celebrate garlicky gastronomy

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

"Pyro Chefs" whip up something special at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Two of the chefs will visit this weekend's Waikiki event. Garlic Festival & Home Grown Products Show Presented by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday Waikiki Shell and vicinity $5 general ($2 discount with Aloha Festivals ribbon), free for keiki 12 and under and those 65 and older 528-7388

So says Alan Sunio, organizer of the Garlic Festival and Home Grown Products Show Saturday and Sunday at the Waikiki Shell.

Everyone, he says, likes garlic. How much depends on what and how much you consume; an overload could be — burp! — disastrous.

Sunio has organized smaller garlic events at the Ward Warehouse and Aloha Tower Marketplace; this year's is the largest by far.

"We hope to make this an annual event in Waikiki," Sunio said about this year's festival, which aims to lure visitors as well as kama'aina for two days of eating, entertainment, shopping and fun. The event is part of the Aloha Festivals celebration, now under way.

Whiffs of garlic adding personality to, say, grilled shrimp, can easily set one drooling. So can nonstop attractions for kids and adults.

There will be music on three stages, and diversions for young and old alike, plus computer games for kids (Sony will set up Playstations) and such extremes as, well, extreme games and rides, wrestling, arts and crafts, and beer and wine.

And lots of garlic, of course.

Patterned after the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, Hawai'i's hopes to emerge as a sister attraction.

So two Pyro Chefs, John Vickroy and Ken Fry, are coming from the Gilroy original to share their culinary artistry with Islanders.

And yes, garlic — that innocent-looking but flavorful bulb — will add dash to seafood, beef, chicken, pork and pasta, and to not-so-common yakisoba and yaki-corn and the usual standbys such as mashed potatoes and bruschetta.

Sunio, who organizes other community fund-raisers such as the Great Aloha Run, said he hoped to assemble smaller, lesser-known eating establishments instead of Ho-nolulu's signature restaurants that commonly gather for events such as Taste of Honolulu.

The scope of this year's attraction — two days, in Waikiki, requiring oodles of hours and manpower— was daunting to the mom-and-pop operations. Only a few signed up.

"We invited those who wanted to do this but couldn't, in hopes that they'll want to come in next year," said Sunio.

"There are little places that really want to come but didn't know how much to bring or how much help they needed for the crowd," said Sunio. "There were a lot of nervous, but eager, people."

One tiny merchant, O&S Saimin in 'Aiea, decided to take the plunge. "He's doing saimin — but known for pulehu pork chops," said Sunio.

Cafe Laufer, a Kaimuki emporium for sandwiches, salads and stunning desserts, also is a first-timer — going with its signature beef stroganoff with linguine.

The purpose of the festival, said Sunio, was to have fun, but to raise money for selected charities, too.

His company, Eventions Inc., has had experience in mounting community events, and this one, with potential links with the signature Gilroy event (which attracts 140,000), smells like a winner, he said. While Gilroy has ties with sister celebrations in Japan and Canada, this will be the first in a U.S. city.

"With the (Japanese) visitor element, there's a possibility for cross-marketing," said Sunio.

He hadn't tasted any of the delicacies on the menu yet — including Kincaid's garlic chicken wings, Marian's Catering's mahi tempura on garlic shoyu long rice, Sansei's crispy rock shrimp with masago aoli — so his anticipation is high.

"Everything will be a surprise," he said.

But how many antacids?

The Garlic Festival by the numbers:

• 12,000 to 15,000 — people expected each day
• 10,000 — pounds of rice
• 8,000 — tickets sold in advance
• 5,000 — pounds of produce donated by Aloun Farms on sale (3,000 pounds of melons, 1,000 pounds of corn, 1,000 assorted veggies)
• 3,500 — feet of lighting donated by FKS sales
• 2,000 — pounds of shrimp
• 2,000 — pizzas
• 1,900 — cases of Coca-Cola and Hawaiian Natural bottled water
• 1,500 — pounds of pasta
• 1,000 — pounds of garlic to be consumed or used in food preparations
• 1,000 — pounds of chicken
• 1,000 — volunteers for the two-day event
• 880 — pounds of beef
• 500 — pounds of bratwurst and Polish sausage
• 500 — pounds of pineapple
• 500 — loaves of bread
• 500 — lemons
• 400 — pounds of calamari
• 300 — pounds of chocolate
• 200 — pounds of pork chops
• 125 — pounds of macadamia nuts
• 40 — participating organizations
• 20 — number of wrestlers to wrangle it out
• 20 — bands to perform
• 20 — other participating acts
• 12 — restaurants participating
• 12 — contestants in a "Hawai'i Stars" competition
• 6 — X-treme fun rentals
• 3 — performance stages
• 2 — Pyro chefs coming over from the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California
• 2 — keiki halau to perform