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The Green County Cheese Days Board of Directors has announced that the festival will not take place in 2020. This is due to consideration for the health and wellness of festival attendees, volunteers and the greater Green County community during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

This disappointing announcement is balanced with a bit of good news. The festival is deviating from the tradition of “third weekend in September in even-numbered years” to bring you “Cheese Days 2020 in 2021.” Mark your calendars for the next Cheese Days on September 17-19, 2021.

Cheese Day began as a one-day annual event in 1914, but the schedule was modified a number of times throughout history. The 1918 festival was preempted due to World War I. An extended break from 1928 through 1935 coincided with the Great Depression. A ten-year hiatus took place from 1955 to 1965. The festival has been an every-other-year tradition since 1970.

Cheese Days recognizes the economic and social impact of the festival, and board members happily acknowledge the fact that the festival is a well-loved tradition in Monroe and Green County.

“We don’t want a four-year gap for our festival goers, our sponsors, or our volunteers,” said Board President Judy Meier. “By planning now for next year we can keep the momentum going as we all look forward to a grand celebration in 2021.”

Sponsors who have already pledged or donated for 2020 will be contacted and given the option to transfer their financial support directly to the 2021 event. Entertainers and contractors will be asked to rebook for 2021. Any fees already collected from vendors will be returned. Updated vendor applications (Commercial and Maker’s Market) will be posted to cheesedays.com by August 1, 2020.

Schedule updates for the festival will be made to the web site as they become available. Follow Cheese Days Festival on Facebook for the latest news.