New for 2012
New for 2012
Last year was incredible. The cheese, the enthusiastic crowd, the food community coming together to create the only event of its kind in the South. But we thought, why not make it better? We've added and tweaked a few things with the hopes of making the 2nd Annual Southern Artisan Cheese Festival unforgettable.
The venue
We are returning to the Nashville Farmers' Market but will take over the whole section where the Flea Market
typically takes places. All the cheesemakers, food artisans, beer and
wine will all be in one spacious open air area covered by two large
permanent sheds.
Special guests
We are excited to announce that Gordon Edgar, cheesemonger and author of Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge
will be here for the weekend. Gordon will lead one of our educational
sessions and will have a signing table during the event with plenty of
copies of his book available for purchase. We are also honored to have
a number of cheesemongers from around the Southeast to here to help with
teaching, pairing, and making the day fabulous.
Cheese and artisan foods
We have even more cheesemakers and food artisans lined up, and we'll have more folks at each booth to hand out samples. 0h, and booths will be spaced out throughout this expansive space, so a long line at one booth won't slow down the whole darn thing.
Educational sessions
We will have six sessions
this year taught by knowledgeable cheese and beverage professionals. Sessions
are for Cheese Fest attendees only, and seating will be limited. There
will be a small additional fee for the classes. As soon as the schedule is set, an alert about class options and signup details will be first sent to
people who have purchased tickets already and those on the Cheese Fest
email list.
Beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages
We
will have another awesome selection of Southern Craft brews this year. Woodland
Wine Merchant is working with local distributors to curate a selection
of perfect pairing wines. Everyone over 21 gets a souvenir sampling glass included with your ticket. And we'll have plenty of refreshments of the non-alcoholic variety available as well.
Time
You'll have three and a half cheese-filled hours to enjoy sampling and pairing. The event takes place 3:30-7pm, so there's plenty of time even if you arrive a little late or leave a little early.
For those cheese superfans among you, we wanted to offer some additional elements to make the event even more memorable. We are most excited about the Friday night Makers n' Mongers reception! VIP tickets will also include early admission to the main event and other goodies. VIP Tickets will be available in extremely limited quantities.