My Cheese Days experience for 2018 was one of meeting people, talking with friends and enjoying the atmosphere of our local festival.

I am aware that it was a bit humid, but the sunshine and dry conditions more than made up for the heavy atmosphere.

Friday afternoon I had a nice talk with Green County Cheese Days treasurer Jean Ruda, who has found some of the finest spots to take a quick break in the shade while she makes her continual rounds to all of the festival tents. Jean spends a lot of time on her feet at Cheese Days. There’s no doubt that being an officer for Cheese Days is a huge responsibility and there are a number of people working together to shoulder the load to make Cheese Days happen.

Jean talked to me about how Cheese Days has changed and improved over the years. The location of Cheese Days isn’t just perfect because Monroe and Green County are home to so many award-winning cheesemakers, it’s perfect because we have a downtown layout that allows for a lot of people to congregate together on the square and in streets surrounding the square.

Green County Clerk Mike Doyle asked me if this was my first Cheese Days experience and I’ll admit it’s the first one I can fully remember. I came to Cheese Days with my grandmother who lived in Monroe a couple of times in my childhood.

“Things have changed a lot since then,” Mike said.

And from what I remember, they have changed. The traditional things about Cheese Days have grown and improved. It’s a celebration that’s been tended to and cared for — like a flourishing garden. The ultimate turnout at Cheese Days is weather dependent. This year’s weather was just nice enough so that people from a broad range of ages could attend.

The Morris Media of Monroe team participated in Cheese Days in a number of ways. We volunteered in the beer tent on Friday in the late morning and early afternoon. Our editorial team participated in the cow-milking contest on Saturday. We had reporters and photographers all over the grounds all weekend. We’re not the only business or entity that puts volunteerism into Cheese Days. The high number of volunteers helps a festival. It also reinforces the feeling of “community.”

Looking back on this year’s Cheese Days, I didn’t have to make more than a four-block walk from any of my parking locations to the festival grounds. That meant I had just a two-minute walk into the heart of Cheese Days. That’s not bad at all, and I feel like I was always lucky to quickly find a parking spot.

There’s so much to see and do at Cheese Days that three days might not be enough — especially if you’re spending a lot of your time watching the stage shows.

Among the things to see and do is eat and drink. Right around noon Friday, my wife, Brenda, made a trip to the Optimist’s Cheese Curd Stand. Brenda arrived back to the Morris Media of Monroe team with two piping-hot orders of deep fried cheese curds. The Cheese Days curds were among a rare group of those I consider the best I’ve ever eaten. With cheese being my favorite food, that’s saying a bunch.

When I walked through the crowds listening to the music I talked to some people who were obviously long-time Cheese Days attendees. I heard some of their Cheese Days stories and passed out business cards for people who talked to me a lot about the Monroe Times.

I had my photo taken with some of the past and present Cheese Days royalty, which I thought was pretty nice. I enjoy people-watching and there’s plenty of opportunity to do that at Cheese Days.

It’s now three days past the festival and I think it lived up every bit to its two-year build-up. That’s my opinion as an attendee and other than the heat and humidity, which comes with every Wisconsin summer, conditions were quite perfect.

I tip my hat to Green County Cheese Days and all of the different groups, government and volunteers who make the entire event shine.

— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.