This painting, commemorating the people of Cheshire and their famous cheese was in the history tent with artifacts and information about the town.
Ricki (The Cheese Queen) and I had a great time at the second annual Cheshire Cheese Fest on July 7th. We had a booth where we sold our new kid’s book (Say Cheese!) and several other products. It was a beautiful day and we met a lot of future cheese makers, as well as some folks who are already masters.
Ricki with the book (Say Cheese!) she wrote with her daughter, Sarah.
History
The cool thing about the festival is that it’s based on an actual event. 216 years ago in July, the town of Cheshire decided to make a giant cheese for the newly elected President, Thomas Jefferson. They used the milk from 935 cows, a mold made by a local blacksmith and a cider press. The cheese weighed 1,235 pounds!
As you can see, the cheese was 4 feet across.
In November of that year, they transported it on a sled pulled by oxen to Troy, New York. Then, it was put on a boat to Washington, DC. The journey took 2 months in total with the winter weather keeping the cheese cold the entire way.
There is actually a monument with a replica of the cider press in the center of the town.
The Event
The festival was hosted by the Cheshire Community Action Team. There were all kinds of activities scheduled for the day including a DJ, vendors, kid’s bouncy house and slide, a kid’s zoo, a kid’s fun run and a 5K run & walk. There was a ceremony to cut the festival’s 25 pound cheddar cheese made by Cream of the Crop Farm in Russell, MA.
Justin Krusznya, event organizer with his wife, Leah Kruszyna. Local author and historian, Barry Emery dressed as Jefferson.
Ricki volunteered to scrub the outside of the cheese before the ceremony.
Thomas Jefferson cut it.
And, we were the lucky ones who got to give out samples of the cheese in our booth for the entire day.
Pictures
Justin Krusznya
Thomas Jefferson gave out samples of the 25 pound cheese and answered questions about the history of the “Mammoth Cheese.”
Peter Mitchell of Headwater Cider Co. was in the booth next to ours. He gave out samples of his award winning cider, made from his homegrown apples.
Ricki stayed on her feet all day, talking to folks and autographing her books.
The llama was quite compelling. He seemed to be as interested in the strange looking people as we were of him.
Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA had a busy booth.
These girls were giving out samples of products from farms who couldn’t come to the festival.
Ricki chatted with Adam Hinds, our state senator.
Awwwww
There was a line at the booth all day for ice cream from Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream.
Ricki finally sat down at the end of the day. Even the Cheese Queen has to take a break from ruling her kingdom.
Contact info
If you would like to be a vendor or a volunteer at the next festival, the Cheshire Community Action Team would love to hear from you:
