There’s an opportunity brewing for lovers of beer cheese who want to give back to the community.

With less than a month before the 10th Beer Cheese Festival in downtown Winchester, volunteers are the force behind the one-day festival.

“We need about 100 volunteers,” Main Street Winchester Director Rachel Alexander said. “They do anything from help setting up in the morning to selling the wristbands for beer cheese tasting to breaking down at the end of the day.”

As the only paid staff member, volunteers do the vast majority of the work to pull the festival off every year, Alexander said.

“They come from all over the community,” she said. “Some businesses send teams” and some come as individuals.

“It wouldn’t happen without them,” Alexander said. “From start to finish, we have a great committee that puts it all together. They’re all volunteers. They’re talented and smart. It’s gotten really big.”

Since the first festival in 2009, the festival has grown every year and now draws thousands to downtown Winchester to sample dozens of flavors of beer cheese, which was invented in Clark County.

Working at the Beer Cheese Festival also carries a couple material perks.

“It’s a really fun day,” Alexander said. “Our volunteers work for two hours. For that, they get a T-shirt and a free wristband.”

And there are free Ale-8-Ones for volunteers, she said.

It also helps bring people and attention to downtown for a big day.

“By volunteering, you’re helping revitalize downtown because we’re raising funds for projects,” she said. “If we didn’t (have volunteers), the whole thing would grind to a halt.”

To register to volunteer, go to beercheesefestival.com/bcf/volunteer.