Don’t be surprised if the stores in Bar Harbor sell out of Altoids this weekend.

The fifth annual Town Hill Garlic Festival will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Atlantic Brewing Co’s. Estate Brewery. Local chefs and home cooks will serve up an Emeril-worthy spread including everything from garlic sausage to chocolate-covered garlic cloves.

“I made them the first year as a joke,” said Barbara Patten, who owns Atlantic Brewing Co. and the Town Hill Tavern with her husband, Doug Maffucci. “Everyone said, ‘Is that all you made?'”

Garlic lover Frank Pendola founded the festival five years ago, when he had a larger-than-expected harvest at the end of the summer. He invited all his friends, and they liked it so much, they decided to make it a yearly event. He planted an even bigger crop of garlic that fall, but his landlord ended up selling his apartment shortly after. The new owner said Pendola could harvest the garlic, and Pendola started building a home of his own. But there was one problem: the garlic festival didn’t have a home.

Maffucci overheard Pendola talking about his plight over a beer at the Town Hill Tavern. No problem, he said, we’ll just hold it here.

Pendola and his friends spread the word and cooked enough for 100 people. More than 350 showed up.

“From then on in, we said, ‘We’ve got something here,” Pendola said.

The following year they cooked for 300. More than 500 showed up. This fall, they’re planning on 1,200 hungry visitors from MDI and beyond.

“One of the high points for me is that it’s becoming more and more of a community event,” Pendola said. “It’s about sharing something.”

During the festival’s first year at the tavern, Pendola gave away a bunch of seed garlic for people to plant and share the following year. They came back with that garlic – and other varieties – so now there are various strains of the pungent bulb growing all over the island.

“My vision is people pulling up with pickup trucks full of garlic,” Pendola said. “The whole island will be covered with garlic. Instead of Mount Desert Island, it’ll be Garlic Island.”

It may be awhile until the whole island is covered with garlic, but on Saturday, the pungent aroma of garlic will fill the air around Town Hill, a village in Bar Harbor. Chefs from MDI and Ellsworth will serve up a garlic-laden feast including a selection of garlic sausages made by Chuck Donnelly; Italian specialties from Anthony’s in Bar Harbor; eggplant Parmesan and spaghetti a l’aglio from Turriglio’s in Ellsworth; garlic dishes from Nakorn Thai in Bar Harbor; garlic ribs from Roger’s Rib Shack; garlic-smoked meats made by Pendola; and garlic-infused, deep-fried turkeys prepared by Ron Muir.

“We pack in as many people as we can here and we spend the whole day eating and having a good time,” Pendola said.

It’s a family-centered event, with a magic show and prizes for children, but there also will be a keg-stacking contest for grownups and the coronation of the garlic king and queen.

Tickets cost $15 per person, which includes a souvenir pint glass and all the food you can eat from any or all of the booths. All proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Maine chapter of the American Red Cross. Each of the restaurants has donated the food and labor for the festival, and Don’s Shop ‘n Save provided $200 worth of meat and poultry for the home cooks to prepare. Home Depot and Wal-Mart also contributed goods.

“People are very generous,” Pendola said.

So far, however, no one has donated breath mints, gum or mouthwash. But Pendola doesn’t seem to mind.

“Our feeling about garlic and breath is as long as everyone else is eating it, what difference does it make?”

By Kristen Andresen

Atlantic Brewing Co. is located at 15 Knox Road in the Bar Harbor village of Town Hill. For information, call 288-2337 or e-mail doug@atlanticbrewing.com.