Does dairy compose 75% of your diet? Yes? Then we have a lot in common. Also, there's a good chance we might see you Sunday at the Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, an annual ode to local cheese. Sure, the word "artisan" gets tossed around too much these days (each time you say "artisan donut," an angel gets slaughtered and turned into sashimi), but its rightfully neighbor is cheese. Delicious cheese. Perfect cheese. Calming cheese.
While all of the events are sold out, the most popular event at the Artisan Cheese Festiva is Sunday’s Marketplace. More than 65 artisan producers will sample their locally-made cheeses, accoutrements, wines and beers. Participating cheese makers are Achadinha Cheese Co., Beehive Cheese Co. (Uintah, UT), Bellwether Farms, Bohemian Creamery, Central Coast Creamery, Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove Chevre, Epicurean Connection, Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese, Laura Chenel's Chevre, Marin French Cheese, Mt. Townsend Creamery (Pt. Townsend, WA), Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Shamrock Artisan Cheese, Sierra Nevada Cheese Co., Tumalo Farms (Bend, OR), Valley Ford Cheese Co., Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese (Doty, WA), and Winchester Cheese (Winchester, CA).
Mugnaini wood-fire oven will also bust out artisan cheese-topped pies.
Your ticket ($45 adult, $25 youth) includes admission, loads of sampling, chef demos and author book signings, a wine glass, and the "coveted insulated cheese tote bag" to hold your dairy booty.
But above al else, don't forget your acidophilus.
What: Artisan Cheese Festival
When: Sunday, March 27
Where: Sheraton Sonoma County, 745 Baywood Drive at the Petaluma Marina,
Petaluma, 707-283-2888 [map]
Tickets: $45 (adults), $25 (young, 12-20)