Giant Wisconsin cheese board is the surprise star at SXSW
One of the surprise stars of this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, wasn’t a fancy app or new music act, but a much more analog and aged product: Wisconsin cheese.
The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board set up the world’s largest cheese board at the festival Tuesday and Wednesday (the festival runs through Sunday), and social media has been abuzz with love for the cheesy offerings.
The 70-foot board featured more than 2,000 pounds and 100 varieties of cheese, from aged cheddars and curds to limburger and the 2017 U.S. Cheese Champion, Sartori Black Pepper BellaVitano.
Lines for the cheese were steady, often 30 to 40 people deep and up to 20minute waits.
“It was constant all day, both days,” said Lizzie Duffey, a public relations specialist with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. At the end of the event, SXSW staff congratulated the cheese purveyors on having one of the most consistently busy events at the festival.
Staff passed out cheese curds to those waiting in line.
“You wouldn’t believe the excitement when we brought cheese curds to them,” said Rachel Kerr, the director of events and public relations for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, noting that many attendees lived in states where the fresh product isn’t sold. Two Wisconsin producers — Carr Valley Cheese and Crave Brothers — shipped the fresh, squeaky curds to Texas.
Almost all of those 2,000 pounds of cheese were consumed over the course of two days. But some lucky guests got a special take-home treat.
“In order to make sure people got to spread the love of Wisconsin cheese, we had people take the extras on the way out,” Kerr said.
Kerr and Duffey noted that because the SXSW festival attracts a national and international audience, people from as far as Israel and Japan were asking where they could get Wisconsin cheese back home. Someone from France — the country that produced the 2018 World Cheese Champion — even complimented the quality of the cheese.
The cheese display was “inspired by the spirit of the barn party,” according to its festival description, with the frame of a temporary barn housing the edible delights.
The Cheese Lounge also featured Bloody Marys in the morning and wine and cheese pairings in the afternoon.
Festival attendees were enamored with the un-brie-lievable display.
“People from across the country were just completely blown away by how many different cheeses come out of the state,” Kerr said. “I had someone specifically tell me, ‘And they call Disney Land the happiest place on Earth.’ ”
Fans are already calling for Wisconsin Cheese to bring back the goudas next year.
“People were begging us to return again,” Kerr said, noting they’re still “reeling” from the success of this year’s event.