Celebrating the Arrival of American Artisanal Cheese

Join us November 1-2, 2013 at the Monona Terrace, located at One John Nolen Drive in beautiful downtown Madison, Wis. to celebrate the fifth annual Wisconsin Cheese Originals Festival and the official arriving age of American artisanal cheese. Click here for directions to the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Advance tickets required. All events will sell out.

Friday All-Day Farm & Creamery Tours

Lucky you! You’ll get to tour an authentic Wisconsin cheese plant, walk a dairy barn, get up-close-and-personal with a dairy goat, enjoy lunch at the local tavern, or eat fresh, warm cheese curds right out of the vat. Choose from three different customized, small-group tours, each limited to just 20 people. These exclusive tours specialize in providing a unique back-stage pass to America’s Dairyland. Tickets: $115. Includes transportation in an executive coach bus, all tours, tastings and lunch.

Friday Evening Meet the Cheesemaker Evening Gala

The signature event of the festival! This popular event takes place inside the elegant ballroom at Monona Terrace. You’ll shake hands and talk shop with more than 40 Wisconsin cheesemakers and local food artisans, sample more than 200 original cheeses and artisan foods, enjoy butlered appetizers with your favorite wine or microbrew, and tap your toes to Point Five, an Americana acoustic band featuring Uplands Cheesemaker Andy Hatch. Afterward, purchase your favorites at the Metcalfe Marketplace booth and take home a piece of Wisconsin. Tickets: $34

Saturday Keynote, Lunch & Seminars

Attendees may purchase an all-inclusive Saturday pass providing VIP access to the morning keynote session, elegant luncheon, afternoon seminar comparing European traditional cheeses to Wisconsin originals, and your choice of two cheese pairing seminars with beer or brandy. In 2013, the festival is thrilled to welcome keynote speaker Laura Werlin, one of the world’s foremost authorities on American artisanal cheese and award-winning author of six books on the subject. All Saturday seminars are also available at ala carte prices. VIP tickets: $89

Saturday Evening Cheesemaker Dinners

Experience a one-of-a-kind three-course meal at one of three Madison restaurants, where each chef partners with two Wisconsin artisan cheesemakers to host an amazing dinner centered around Wisconsin artisanal cheese. Choose your favorite restaurant and join the featured cheesemakers in a private room for 30. Evening cheesemaker dinners provide a perfect way to cap your Wisconsin Cheese Originals Festival experience. Tickets: $65