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Clark County’s native creation is set to draw a crowd this weekend at the Kentucky Beer Cheese Festival in downtown Winchester.

The festival begins at 10 a.m. and will run through 5 p.m.

So what can festival attendees expect?

Cameron Correll, the marketing and events director for Winchester First, which organizes and puts on the festival, had all the answers during a recent interview with the Sun.

“Starting at 10 a.m., downtown will come alive with music, food, crafts, shopping, and, of course, loads of beer cheese,” she said.

The main event of the day will be the professional beer cheese competition on the front steps of the Clark County Courthouse.

“We will have 15 beer cheese professionals set up around the courthouse,” Correll said.

To sample the beer cheese, attendees can purchase a $12 pass that contains 15 tickets on the festival’s website, beercheesefestival.com, or at the ticket booth in front of the courthouse. Any additional tickets will cost $2 for a single or $3 for a pair.

The professional beer cheese competition winners will be announced starting at 4:30 p.m.

“So if you find a beer cheese vendor that, say, has five flavors, you can sample their additional flavors,” Correll said. 

There will be plenty of other things to enjoy over the course of the day.

“We will have live music all day,” Correll said. “We will have over 150 arts and crafts vendors, over 25 different food trucks, and all our downtown businesses will be open and excited to welcome people downtown.”

The music lineup includes seven artists, including one band who has been preparing to perform at the festival all year.

“We are bringing a new group called Rock University. They are a local youth organization partnered through Leeds Theater, which is a group of middle schoolers who are interested in learning how to form a rock band,” Correll said.

While the festival has recent origins going back to 2008, beer cheese has an even longer history in Clark County.

“Winchester is the birthplace of beer cheese,” Correll said. “It all started down on the river with Johnny Allman. He made a snappy cheese to entice people to buy more drinks at his bar! So many people loved it so it turned into quite the sensation.”

Not only does the festival honor local history, but it showcases downtown as well.

“We have a beautiful and historic downtown. We have over 50 downtown business owners who have worked hard to create unique shopping and dining experiences,” Correll said.

The beer cheese festival also serves an essential function for Winchester First.

“We use this as a fundraising tool for our downtown events and activities, as well as other ways we support downtown,” Correll said.