11th Annual VT Cheese Fest is Biggest Yet

Photo credit Duna Tatour

New this year, the Festival is adding two new events on Saturday, August 10th.  Starting off the day will be an Educational Day on Saturday, August 10 from 10 AM to 4 PM at Shelburne Farms.  Envisioned as a training day for both professionals and cheese aficionados, the Education Day will include a cheese science primer with Zoe Brickley from Jasper Hill Farm, a guide walk through the pastures with Parish Hill Creamery Cheesemaker Peter Dixon, as well as time spent with the Shelburne Farms Head Cheesemaker, Andi Wandt.  A pairing event will close out the day.  The day includes a catered lunch.  Tickets for the Education Day are $95.00. Tickets are also available for the Vermont Cheese Dinner.  Dinner tickets are $75.00.    The Vermont Cheese Dinner will be held at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, VT. This is the third annual dinner and has been a great way to cap the day.  Golden Tickets are available for the Festival and include admission to Education Day, the Cheese Dinner, and the Sunday Festival.

The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival will be held on August 11 at Shelburne Farms from 11 to 4 PM.  Tickets are available for the Festival on Eventbriteor on the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival website.  Available tickets include a $65.00 General Admission ticket (and a $20.00 ticket for children under 12,) a $100.00 Patron Ticket, and a $300.00 Golden Ticket. Golden Tickets include individual tickets to the Vermont Education Day, Vermont Cheese Dinner, and to the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival as well as festival site parking and early entry at 10 AM on the Festival day.   Patrons Tickets include early entry at 10 AM on Festival day, plus festival site parking. General Admission Tickets include admittance at 11 AM and off-site parking at Shelburne Farms. All tickets include Festival bag and Festival wineglass.

This year, the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival will also include the Vermont Wood Works Councilpresenting their hand-made wooden cheeseboard competition utilizing wood grown and harvested at Shelburne Farms.  The finalists, chosen by the Vermont Woods Works Council and the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival staffs for this contest will be presented and chosen by the attendees at the festival.  Additional cheese boards made by members of the Vermont Wood Works Council will be presented at the Vermont cheesemakers tables.  This Is the first collaboration between the two organizations.  

The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival is sponsored by platinum sponsors Vermont Creamery, Shelburne Farms, platinum media sponsorYankee Magazine and New England.com,and the Vermont Dairy Promotion Councilwith the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.  Gold Sponsors include Cabot Creamery, Grafton Village Cheese Company, Jasper Hill Farm, Josh Cellars,Provisions International, Shelburne Vineyard, and Whistle Pig Rye Whiskey.  Silver sponsors are Consider Bardwell Farm, Dakin Farm, Mad River Food Huband Mad River Taste Place,Maplebrook Farm, Spring Brook Farm/ Farms for City Kids, and Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company.  In-kind sponsors include Clear Water Filtration, Side Hill Farm, Porter's Sugarhouse Maple Syrup, Vermont Wood Works Council, and Localvore Passport.   

The Vermont Cheese Counciloperates the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival.  The Council has been in existence since 1996.  There are currently 50 members in the council.  The Vermont cheese industry represents $1 billion in annual sales in Vermont.  The Vermont dairy sector is the largest portion of the annual agricultural sales in the state and represents thousands of jobs, and thousands of acres of farmland in the working landscape of Vermont.