For The City Times

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in partnership with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board will be hosting a Wisconsin Cheese Curdfest on Sunday, August 2.

The event will be free to the public, and will run from 12:00-4:00 pm. There will be music, inflatables and games for children, and many cheese dishes and other food to sample.

“We have wanted to hold a unique event at the ballpark for some time,” said Rafters General Manager John Fanta. “I think throughout the league we look at ourselves as event managers on top of just baseball people, and hosting the Wisconsin Cheese Curdfest provides another opportunity for our community.”

The City of Wisconsin Rapids unanimously approved the event in May at a meeting of the Common Council.

Attendees of the event will be able to sample and purchase both deep fried and fresh cheese curds from local vendors. Fanta is looking for approximately 10 vendors to participate. Each will need to be approved and licensed through the Wood County Health Department, and will be able to provide up to three dairy product samples, with a minimum of one of the samples being a form of cheese curd.

Other ides have been proposed to Fanta, including a competition to name the best local chicken wing,

“The support of the Milk Marketing Board drove us to do the cheese fest for this year,” Fanta said.

The Cheese Curdfest was held last year at Joannes Stadium, home to the Green Bay Bullfrogs.

If you wish to participate as a vendor, please contact Fanta by emailing him at john@raftersbaseball.com for additional information.