The Great Canadian Cheese Festival – Part 2

This is the second and final part of an interview with Georgs Kolesnikovs about the Great Canadian Cheese Festival coming to Picton, Ontario, June 4 and 5, 2011.

Q:  Georgs, what is your vision for the festival?

I see it as a showcase event for Canadian cheese and Canadian cheesemakers and a great opportunity for Canadian cheese lovers to meet cheesemakers and other cheese enthusiasts in a unique setting at the Crystal Palace at the Prince Edward County Fairgrounds.

Cheese lovers will be able to taste cheese, talk cheese, learn about cheese and buy cheese from Canada’s leading cheesemakers. And have a great time.

Q:  How will this play out?

Saturday will be dedicated to a keynote presentation, a choice of tasting seminars, several cheesemaking demonstrations and guided tours of the cheesemaking operations within an hour’s drive of the Festival. Attendees will be able to pick and chose the program that suits them.

Saturday evening will be a Cheese Gala, a moveable feast featuring tasting dishes prepared by Canadian chefs with Canadian cheese and paired with Canadian wines and beers. Featuring a groaning board of fine cheeses. Followed by sweet delights. With two sittings to eliminate long lines at food stations.

On Sunday, the Cheese Fair and Gourmet Market will take place with a wide variety of artisan and specialty cheeses for sampling and purchase, represented by Canadian cheesemakers from coast to coast. Vendors will include vintners, brewers, purveyors of fine foods, charcuterie and other delectables.

Q:  How can folks get involved?

First mark the dates June 4th and 5th on your 2011 calendars. Our website will go live in October with program details, seminar selection and advance registration.

Until then, http://www.cheesefestival.ca redirects to a temporary page at CheeseLover.ca, where cheese enthusiasts can sign up for an email advisory of posts about cheese, the cheese scene, and the Festival.

Cheesemakers and others in the cheese business can obtain information about participation by contacting me via telephone 905.837.0102 or festival@cheeselover.ca

Or follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/CheeseLoverG

Georgs at the Warwick Cheese Festival 2010

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The Great Canadian Cheese Festival – Part 1

The recent sold out success of the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival inspired me to turn my attention to a festival closer to home – The Great Canadian Cheese Festival – coming to Prince Edward County, in Eastern Ontario in June 2011.

www.cheesefestival.ca

I talked with Georgs Kolesnikovs who conceived of, and is organizing, the festival.

Q:  Georgs, what is your background as it relates to cheese?

I am a cheese lover. A taste of Oka almost 50 years ago, when it was still made by Trappist monks, sparked in me a lifelong love for cheese. That love has ripened into full-blown passion as more and more mouth-watering cheeses are being churned out by artisan and specialty cheesemakers across Canada. I’m a lifelong journalist, thus, it’s natural for me to want to communicate that passion.

Which is what led me start the blog CheeseLover.ca and, now, to organize the first festival of Canadian cheese.

Q:  What drew you to the idea of putting on a cheese festival, and a Great Canadian one, to boot.

Quite frankly, I was disappointed with the typical wine and cheese shows as they are so light on cheese. Having a fair amount of experience with events, it didn’t take me long to conclude that it was time for Canada to have a genuine festival of cheese—and for me to produce it.

I’m calling it The Great Canadian Cheese Festival for several reasons:

  • Canadian cheese is indeed great,
  • The Festival will truly be a coast-to-coast representation of cheese,
  • It will be a great celebration of all things cheese, especially Canadian cheese.

Q:  When and where is it happening?

Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, 2011.

At the historic Crystal Palace in Picton, Prince Edward County. Two hours from Toronto, three hours from Ottawa, four hours from Montreal, just a few minutes off Highway 401.  Look for future events in Hastings, Lennox & Addington and Frontenac Counties, all part of Eastern Ontario’s burgeoning artisan cheese region.

In The Great Canadian Cheese Festival Part 2, I’ll talk with Georgs about his vision for the festival and how you can get involved.  Stay tuned!

Contributed by Galen Newman – Invest in Cheese Team

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