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The Big Cheese Festival is an annual food festival held in July that was established in 2000 and is held in
The festival is held in and around Caerphilly Castle which is the largest castle in Wales and one of the largest in Europe. The event is free and the castle also allows free entry during the event.
No festival was held in 2020 or 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival is held over a three-day weekend, starting on a Friday afternoon, and in 2012 it attracted around 80,000 visitors
The Big Cheese Festival 2019
Business Wales, Food and Drink
About Wales, Welsh Food Festivals
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...
. Overview
The Big Cheese Festival is a festival dedicated to Caerphilly cheese and events are organised around this theme. The festival is notable for being a major event in the town of Caerphilly, attracting up to 80,000 visitors over three days. The event is also notable for being the only dedicated cheese festival in Wales.
The festival is held in and around Caerphilly Castle which is the largest castle in Wales and one of the largest in Europe. The event is free and the castle also allows free entry during the event.
No festival was held in 2020 or 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Focus
The festival focuses on food and drink with street food vendors, a lounge bar area, food halls and live cookery demonstrations by chefs. The food halls contain stalls from local and regional Welsh food and drink producers with an emphasis on Welsh cuisine. There is also a cheese market with cheese makers from Wales and the rest of the UK. The festival has previously included a Big Cheese Race, a funfair, firework displays, music and other forms of entertainment, including talks, demonstrations, educational activities, and activities for children. Medieval re-enactments are held in the castle grounds, these include battles and displays, and a programme of events is held in the castle'sGreat Hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
. The aim is to portray the history, heritage and culture of Caerphilly.
Big Cheese Race
The Big Cheese Race follows a route around the castle with teams running in relay from the main event site. Teams pass traditional cheese stretchers, adorned with replica cheese truckles, between team members as they run a lap around the castle grounds. The race has different age categories and each team consists of four people.Structure and support
The festival is organised and run byCaerphilly County Borough Council
Caerphilly County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is the governing body for Caerphilly County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The last full council elections took place 5 May 2022.
Political control
The ...
. The festival has a number of sponsors and has been supported by Welsh Government through the Food Festival Grant Scheme.
The festival is held over a three-day weekend, starting on a Friday afternoon, and in 2012 it attracted around 80,000 visitors
Videos
The Big Cheese Festival 2019
Further reading
Business Wales, Food and Drink
About Wales, Welsh Food Festivals
References
{{reflist Food and drink festivals in the United Kingdom Caerphilly Annual events in Wales 1998 establishments in Wales