If you're like me and really enjoy the mighty garlic clove, you'll be happy to know that Garlic Town, USA is returning for Labor Day Weekend!! I'm letting you know now to give you plenty of time to plan for the big event.

According to News 10 Albany, recently at the Bennington Select Board meeting, the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce made the big announcement. They will be bringing their annual "Garlic Fest" to downtown Bennington on September 4.

How much do you actually know about garlic? Obviously, we're all well aware that it gives you bad breath, but that's probably the only negative factor, at least for humans. Definitely keep Fluffy and Fido far away. Garlic is toxic to cats and dogs.

Get our free mobile app

Are you aware of how healthy garlic is? Garlic bulbs are packed with potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, and Vitamin C. I know, right?

If you cut into a clove of garlic it releases a substance called allicin which is an antibiotic and antifungal that is believed to reduce “bad” cholesterol, as it inhibits enzymes from growing in liver cells.

Another benefit from allicin? It's good at combating heart disease. It helps nitric oxide release in the blood vessels which relaxes them, thus bringing about a drop in blood pressure. This results in not only good news for your heart but the rest of your vascular system as well.

But enough about the many wondrous benefits of garlic, let's get to the need to know about Garlic Town, USA! On Saturday, September 4th, Bennington will transform into “Garlic Town, USA” once again in celebration of all things garlic and agriculture!

The town of Bennington has become world-famous for its annual Garlic & Herb Festival held on Labor Day Weekend. It is considered one of the top 10 garlic festivals in the entire world and was even featured in Yankee Magazine.

Pre-pandemic, in 2019, the festival had 200 garlic-themed vendors and saw over 16,000 patrons. That's a pretty big and impressive number. Most of this year's celebration will be open to the public. And definitely bring some spending money. You can expect that many of the beautiful stores and shops in downtown Bennington will be holding sidewalk sales and other cool bargains. And even restaurants are encouraged to have outside entertainment. Plenty of things for kids, too!

Oh, and if you're on the hunt for garlic dill pickles, you can bet there will some vendors that will have just what you're looking for. L-U-V me some garlic dill pickles. For more information on Garlic Town, USA, please visit the website here.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

LET'S GO: The most popular historic sites in America

 

More From WUPE