The Hudson Valley Garlic Festival returned with a pungent fervor to Cantine Field Memorial Complex in Saugerties last Saturday and Sunday. Thousands of festivalgoers enjoyed food, music, performances, lectures about farming and cooking, handmade crafts and kids’ activities. The event is a celebration of the harvest of what garlic aficionados lovingly refer to as the ‘stinking rose’ and is hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Saugerties. It ultimately showcases the community orientation of Saugerties. Through years of coordination and planning, local volunteers and business owners have streamlined the event that has put the town on more maps. The sense of interconnectedness and pride amongst the event stalls is as palpable as the heady scent of garlic that permeated all the way to the parking lot.