Big Cheese Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Big Cheese Festival |
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| Location(s) | Caerphilly |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founders | Caerphilly County Borough Council |
| Attendance | 80,000 |
| Website | https://www.bigcheesecaerphilly.co.uk/ |
The Big Cheese Festival is a super fun yearly food festival that happens every July in the town of Caerphilly. It started in the year 2000.
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About the Festival
The Big Cheese Festival is all about Caerphilly cheese! All the activities and events at the festival are planned around this yummy theme.
This festival is a really big deal for Caerphilly. It brings in as many as 80,000 visitors over three days! It's also special because it's the only festival in all of Wales that is just for cheese.
The festival takes place in and around Caerphilly Castle. This castle is the biggest one in Wales and one of the largest in all of Europe! The festival is free to enter, and you can even go inside the castle for free during the event.
The festival didn't happen in 2020 or 2021 because of the global health situation at the time.
In 2022, everyone hoped the festival would return. However, because of building work at Caerphilly Castle, the local council decided to hold a different event instead. They called it the Little Cheese Race. The Little Cheese Race happened again in 2023. It was spread out across Caerphilly town center and even included the grassy area behind the castle.
What You Can Do There
The festival mainly focuses on delicious food and drinks. You can find street food sellers, a special lounge bar area, and big food halls. There are also live cooking shows where chefs demonstrate their skills.
The food halls are filled with stalls from food and drink makers from Wales and other parts of the UK. They especially highlight tasty Welsh cuisine. There's also a special cheese market where you can find cheese makers from all over.
In the past, the festival has featured a fun Big Cheese Race, a lively funfair, and exciting firework displays. You could also enjoy music and other entertainment. This included talks, demonstrations, educational activities, and special activities just for children.
Medieval re-enactments are held in the castle grounds. These include exciting battles and displays. A full program of events also takes place in the castle's Great Hall. All these activities help to show off the history, heritage, and culture of Caerphilly.
The Big Cheese Race
The Big Cheese Race is a super fun event that goes around the castle. Teams run in a relay race, starting from the main festival area. As they run, teams pass traditional cheese stretchers. These stretchers are decorated with fake cheese truckles, which are big wheels of cheese.
Each team has four people, and there are different age groups so everyone can join in the fun!
How It's Organized
The festival is put together and run by the Caerphilly County Borough Council. Many different businesses and groups help to sponsor the festival. The Welsh Government has also supported it through their Food Festival Grant Scheme.
The festival usually lasts for three days, starting on a Friday afternoon. In 2012, about 80,000 people came to enjoy the event!
Images for kids
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An aerial view of Caerphilly Castle
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Inside the Great Hall at Caerphilly Castle
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A wheel of Caerphilly Cheese
