Isle of Wight Garlic Festival

Food Festival · June

The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival has been celebrating the island's garlic growing tradition since 1983, making it one of the longest-running food festivals in the country. The festival is held at The Garlic Farm at Newchurch in the centre of the island, where the Boswell family has been growing garlic commercially since the 1970s.

The festival attracts around 25,000 visitors over two days, with stalls selling garlic in every conceivable form: roasted bulbs, garlic bread, garlic beer, garlic ice cream, garlic fudge, and dozens of other garlic-themed products. Beyond the garlic, there are craft stalls, live music, children's entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and competitions including the garlic eating contest.

The Garlic Farm itself is worth visiting outside of the festival too, with a farm shop, restaurant and self-guided farm trail open year-round. The island's climate, with its long growing season and mild winters, is well suited to garlic cultivation, and the farm grows over 50 varieties. The festival celebrates not just garlic but the island's broader food culture, with local producers, breweries and food businesses well represented among the stalls.

The festival site at Newchurch is in a beautiful valley setting, and the relaxed, community feel distinguishes it from larger commercial food festivals. Parking is in farm fields, and the event has a distinctly rural, Isle of Wight character.