The past few weeks have brought several harbingers of spring here in Southern Oregon, hard on the heels of a late winter snowfall. Daffodils and trees are blooming, lawns need mowing, birds sing sweetly all day and frogs in the wetlands sing all night. And just days before spring officially commenced, this weekend saw one of my favorite signs of spring: the annual Oregon Cheese Festival.

Sponsored by the Oregon Cheese Guild and held on the grounds of our own Rogue Creamery (which makes international award-winning blue cheese), this year marked the 15th such celebration, which every year grows in the number of vendors and the number of visitors to the two-day event. We’ve been attending for at least the last 10 years, but this was the first time we decided to work the event as volunteers. It gave us a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of the gathering . . . as well as free admission (and a bright orange t-shirt) to enjoy sampling all the goodies on offer.

While it may be the raison d’être of the festival, cheese is not the only item available to sample there. As its organizers explain, this farmers’ market-style event celebrates cheese “and everything that goes with it.” In addition to the 19 artisan cheesemakers from around the state and beyond (Vermont, Utah, California and Washington), everything from baguettes to chocolates, honey to sea salt, fruit, nuts and jellies tempted guests from tables and booths scattered throughout three different spaces. And 35 different beverage vendors offered microbrews, local wines, hard ciders and distilled spirits. There seem to be a few more of those last two categories every year over the past three or four years; it’s interesting to see evidence of the latest food and beverage trends in the offerings at the festival each year.

Word has certainly gotten out over the years about what a fun, great event this is. All 3,000 advance tickets were sold before the opening day, and organizers estimated they welcomed more than 5,000 attendees in all. It certainly made for crowded spaces and long lines at the tables at times, but the sunny, warm weather kept everyone in a jovial mood (the wine and beer probably helped in that regard, too!).

Yes, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to welcome spring than with some beautiful weather and a celebration of good food and drink.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor