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Our View: Cheese Days - We've got something special
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It's Cheese Days!

The excitement surrounding the 100th anniversary of Green County's most beloved festival has been building for the past two years, since the last Cheese Days was held in 2012. Over the past few months, weeks and especially the past few days, preparations have reached a fever pitch, as residents bustle about to welcome more than 100,000 to the festivities.

There's a reason so many people return to Cheese Days year after year - we've got something special here. And a big part of that is how we come together to prepare for the three-day event.

We tip our hat to the city, businesses, community groups and residents who have pitched in to spruce up our buildings and homes to make Monroe so attractive and welcoming.

We thank the countless volunteers who work tirelessly to make Cheese Days the terrific success that it is. There's a myriad of jobs that need attending to: Setting up tents, selling beer tickets, manning the information booth, organizing parades and the multitude of other special events, cleaning up - the list goes on and on. These volunteers are truly unsung heroes.

An army of volunteers this successful requires strong leadership. We give a special thank you to the Cheese Days board of directors and Cheese Days coordinator Noreen Rueckert. They do an outstanding job, year after year, of keeping Cheese Days a vital and thriving event.

The folks at Cheese Days are asking for our patience as community members this weekend. Yes, parking can be tight downtown. Yes, there will be crowds. But those minor inconveniences are a small price for the fun and excitement - not to mention exposure - that Cheese Days brings.

We echo Cheese Days' sentiments on Facebook this week in encouraging everyone to relax and be patient this weekend. Thank the many Cheese Days volunteers for their efforts and the law enforcement officers who pull extra duty to make sure everyone is safe. And for those who have already blocked off terraces along the route for Sunday's parade - please remember we want to share the parade. Cheese Days organizers have a great idea: Why not offer your lawn to other spectators so they too can enjoy the show?

That's what Green County "gemutlichkeit" is about, after all.

Here's wishing everyone a memorable 100th anniversary of Cheese Days.