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by Margo Callaghan

The second annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival held last Sunday at Shelburne Farms brought together over 1,500 cheese aficionados from throughout the Northeast. Hosted by the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, and the Vermont Cheese Council, the festival offered the 1,500 people in attendance an opportunity to sample and purchase over 100 types of cheese from more than 40 different cheesemakers.

According to Allison Hooper of Vermont Butter & Cheese, one of the organizers of the festival, the responses from both cheesemakers and tasters were extremely enthusiastic. "Last year's event sold out a week before the festival," Hooper explained. "This year, we increased the number of available tickets from 1,000 to 1,500, and we sold out two weeks prior to Sunday." Hooper sees that future festivals will continue to gain a following, thanks to the marketing efforts of the event's organizers. This year, those efforts included a heavy blogging campaign and word of mouth by way of Facebook. "We had coverage in the New York Times, though sadly it was after the tickets had sold out," Hooper supplied.

Again this year, the day's events included educational seminars, cheese pairings, cooking demonstrations and a cheesemaking demonstration with Marc Druart, the master cheesemaker at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAC), and Kate Ardling, one of the founders and editors of "Culture," a national consumer magazine that focuses on the world of artisanal and farmstead cheese.

Sunday's festival had approximately 10 percent more exhibitors than in 2009. In addition to the cheese producers, the event featured artisan foods from around the state, ranging from locally produced peanut butter and salsas, to breads, wines, and beers.

"This year's festival went surprisingly smoothly," Hooper concluded. She aims to continue adding carefully selected vendors for future Cheesemakers Festivals and to continue "playing" to a sellout crowd.