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The refreshing sensation of idyllic summertime shade pours forth from this year's Garlic Festival poster.

Jim Serfass's first-place design portrays a couple of recently unearthed bulbs still sporting their long green hair amid a column of sunset hues. Stenciled bramble winds through a pool of yellow that cools into a dark green on either side, complementing the poster's warm center and drawing the viewer's attention back to the festival's roots.

Known as the "anniversary artist," Serfass, a Berkeley resident, took first place in 1998 and 2003, as well. Those years marked the festival's 20th and 25th anniversaries, and this year is the 30th annual event.

Serfass received a $750 cash prize and competed against 28 other contestants. Karen Scorsur, chair of the festival's retail committee, said his piece won partly because "it's colorful and lends itself to many retail items."

Serfass could not be reached for comment, but a press release from the Garlic Festival said high-quality re-prints of his design will sell for $10 each at the festival. He will also sign copies at the event, which occurs the last weekend of July at Christmas Hill Park.

Local garlic lover JoAnne Perez Robinson placed second and earned $400, and Beverly McCullough - of Carlsbad in southern California - placed third and won $200. McCullough could not be reached for comment, but Robinson picked up at her Gilroy home Tuesday afternoon, and the professional artist was more than happy to talk about her rose-themed water color painting.

"The festival emphasized something you could hang in your kitchen or dining room, and since this is the 30th anniversary, I put together the roses as a tribute to the stinking rose and also as sort of a gift to the festival," Robinson said of her work.

In it, a sun-drenched terra-cotta plate bears three bulbs and sits atop a casually spread comforter. A bouquet of roses lay beneath, along with a card that reads, 'Happy Anniversary.' Robinson - a mother of two and a regular festival attendant for the past 29 years who placed first in the 2006 poster contest - said she spent a couple of weeks working on the piece, but she had been doodling on and off for the past year.

As for the money?

"I'm going to spend it on art supplies," said Perez.