This marked our fifth year visiting the fabulous Vermont Cheese Festival. This year it returned to…read moreShelburne Farms south of Burlington for the first time since 2019; the most recent festival was held in Greensboro in 2023, and there was no festival in 2024. So it was a big welcome back in 2025, and the event -- held inside the newly reconstructed, enormous breeding barn at Shelburne (please see the photos) -- was quite a big deal. There were perhaps 50 or so vendors, and the general public was limited to just 1,000 tickets, which made it, unexpectedly, something of an elite event. (Tickets were sold out months in advance.)
The festival offers a wonderful opportunity to meet the these dedicated craft cheesemakers and, best of all, sample their work. And wow, did we ever sample their work!!! We won't go detailing each of those cheeses, but please know there were many and not a one disappointed us. Other vendors offered everything from ciders to jams, sauces, charcuterie and -- believe it or not -- peanut butter. At a cheese festival? The atmosphere is inviting and rewarding for the makers and the public, and assembling such a large and skilled group of crafters in one place makes for an extraordinary moment. We congratulate the executive director of the cheese council, Hale, who did a splendid job.
A couple of small issues for us: while there were a few chairs outside the barn there was almost no seating at all inside, and there was space which could have been worked fine, we think. And after a hour of walking around, a sitting break could have felt good. Also, there were food trucks selling ice cream, Indian food, cookies from King Arthurs, but they were placed placed pretty far from the barn, requiring a bit of walking. We also enjoyed the band playing outside, but they too were a bit moved from everything else. And then, it was hot -- near 90, but that's just the way it was. And for attendees, it was clearly not the temps defined this dazzling event. We're ready for 2026!