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OCEAN PARK — There were some bouts of rain, but the final festival of the summer season didn’t disappoint.

More than 3,000 people attended the 42nd annual NW Garlic Festival, held at Roy E. Sheldon Park last Saturday and Sunday in Ocean Park.

The annual two-day festival, sponsored by the Ocean Park Area Chamber of Commerce, was born from a love for garlic-laden cuisine, first starting in June 1981 with the former Ark Restaurant & Bakery in Nahcotta.

The Ark Garlic Booth, operated by Nanci Main, co-owner and chef at the famed former Ark Restaurant, was among the more than 40 vendors, many of whom featured garlic-inspired items, from soap to ice cream.

“I’ve gone through a lot of it — an entire log,” said Soap With A Twist co-owner Jack Frach, regarding their specially-made garlic-scented soap, made with fresh-pressed garlic.

“One person said they wanted to bath with it, but the others want to put it next to their fire pit to repel the mosquitos,” said Frach. “It has its own separate box because it will overpower anything else. It’s different.”

Shelton-based Olympic Mountain Ice Cream had blackberry garlic, vanilla fudge ribbon garlic, strawberry garlic sorbet and pistachio garlic among their specially-made flavors for the festival, while other vendors took garlic-inspired twists on their traditional fare, from German garlic hotdogs to fresh garlic-parmesan popcorn.

Saturday brought bouts of afternoon rain during the festival, but attendance remained robust and vendors reported strong sales.

“We did really well, even during the rainstorm,” said Going With The Grain NW co-owner Brad Browning. “We were very pleased.”