Gilroy Garlic Festival local ticket release today

South Valley residents get first crack at 2026 Gilroy Garlic Festival tickets starting Sunday, April 19, before any broader public sale. (morganhilltimes.com) The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association said the first release is limited to people who live in Gilroy or within a 20-mile radius. The list named Gilroy, San Martin, Morgan Hill, Hollister, San Juan Bautista and Aromas as eligible communities. (morganhilltimes.com) The 2026 festival is scheduled for July 24-26 at the Hecker Pass Outdoor Events Center, next to Gilroy Gardens. Festival organizers posted ticket details and visitor information on the event’s official website. (gilroygarlicfestival.com) Organizers tied the local on-sale date to National Garlic Day, which also falls on April 19. The residents-only release was announced April 14. (morganhilltimes.com) The early local sale follows the festival’s return in July 2025 after a six-year absence. That comeback event ran at a new venue with a daily capacity of 3,000 and sold out in advance on all three days. (morganhilltimes.com) The festival’s scale is smaller than its pre-2019 run at Christmas Hill Park, where attendance once approached 100,000 over three days. Organizers shifted to the current site after years of stalled revival efforts following the 2019 mass shooting and later insurance and reopening hurdles. (morganhilltimes.com) Gilroy Garlic Festival organizers say the event has raised more than $12 million for local schools, charities and nonprofit groups since it began in 1979. The association also says the festival is powered by volunteers. (morganhilltimes.com) This year’s official festival pages say tickets are valid for one day only, and event hours are still to be announced. The site also says festival parking, ticketing and entrances are separate from Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park. (gilroygarlicfestival.com) For local buyers, the practical effect is simple: Sunday’s release opens first to nearby residents for a festival that sold out quickly in its first year back. The next milestone is the three-day event in Gilroy on July 24, 25 and 26. (morganhilltimes.com; gilroygarlicfestival.com)