MDI garlic festival offers slew of dishes

SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Quick! What fights the plague, wards off vampires and turns blah into “bam!”

You’ve got it – garlic.

But you probably didn’t know it could help our four-legged friends and our waterways, too. The $10 admission fee for summer’s most fragrant festivities – the Mount Desert Island Garlic Festival – co-sponsored by Frank Pendola of Nostrano restaurant and the Southwest Harbor/Tremont Chamber of Commerce, will benefit the SPCA of Hancock County and the MDI Water Coalition.

“I really want to help these guys,” said festival founder Pendola.

The festival will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at Smuggler’s Den Campground in Southwest Harbor.

By lowering the fee from $20 to $10 and offering a slew of garlic-laden dishes a la carte from area restaurants, Pendola hopes to put more money into the pockets of area charities. Even a la carte, it’s still the best meal deal in town – Pendola’s own eatery, Nostrano, will offer a platter of smoked garlic, lavender-rubbed smoked brisket, spicy slaw and other delicacies for $2.

Pendola, a food lover and garlic aficionado, started the festival in his backyard in 1998. It has grown every year, and he now plants and harvests 1,500 to 2,000 heads of garlic for the event.

Festival-goers can buy or win garlic to plant themselves – Pendola encourages those who win garlic to bring back some of their harvest next year.

Local farmers will be on hand to offer tricks of the garlic-growing trade. In addition, a dog agility demonstration and live old-time and Celtic music by Kate Wegner and Chuck Donnelly are on the slate.

But what’s on the plate? Chowder from Chipper’s, Spiedini (small, souvlakilike sandwiches) from Carlo’s Ristorante and smoked meats from Pendola’s artisanal smokehouse. To wash it all down, a variety of beers and wines from around the world will be offered by the glass.

For information on the ninth annual MDI Garlic Festival, visit www.nostranomaine.com.