There aren’t many places where I truly feel at home. There are bits of that familiar nostalgia when I think of my college campus and the painful longing for London (my favorite city), and of course, I enjoy returning to Monticello for the frigid Christmas holidays. But for the most part, I’ve moved so many times that it’s hard to identify one place, one home point. Instead, my home point is often people. Cheese Days is one of the best examples.
It breaks my heart to not be able to return home for the 2024 Cheese Days festival. I’ve only missed one other fest (and that was to move into college). It’s unnatural to not be there in person! Having traveled the country and documented many festivals and celebrations, I can confidently say that Cheese Days is special. I can’t explain why I feel such a strong longing for fresh curds or to hear the blare of the alphorns from across the Square, but I do. Cheese Days is the best example I’ve found of a community that was built on tightly woven bonds so many years ago and, while evolving over the years, has maintained those ties to where it all started. The joy showcased during the festival is almost unexplainable to people who have never attended. How do you sum up the pride you feel when hearing the yodeler from Main Stage or the excitement at seeing those Brown Swiss cows leading the big parade? The curiosity of roaming Makers Market or touring a local dairy farm? How do you explain to a newbie that Wedgie is both a piece of cheese and an icon?
Cheese Days is special. And it wouldn’t be possible without the community that built the festival and kept it going. The volunteers ensuring things run smoothly during (and before) the festival weekend, the teams organizing each detail from performance schedules to vendors and the royalty court, the shuttle bus drivers, the teachers leading their students in cheese-themed crafts (and in the parade) — and let’s not forget the countless performers and individuals who stand ready and willing to share their Swiss culture. I have yet to see a better example of a small community coming together to share in the joy of their history, and welcoming anyone who may wish to experience it with them.
Though I’ll be listening to the Cheese Days song from the East Coast, I wish you all an amazing Cheese Days weekend. Relish every moment — every cheese curd, every rousing performance (and polka dance!), every chance encounter on the Square with an old friend. Take every opportunity to appreciate all that makes Monroe special. We truly are lucky to call Cheese Days home.
— Sarah Sabatke is a Monroe graduate and Times correspondent.
