The 46th Annual Cheese Festival is just around the corner and promises to be a vibrant event.
For the first time, festival t-shirts are available for purchase before the big day. They are $20 and may be purchased at Watonga City Hall.
There will be some 30 vendors inside the Armory building, promising a wide selection of goods for shoppers of all tastes and budgets. In addition, there will be 10 concessions – that’s food vendors – and about 15 street vendors along Main Street.
That is outside the art show being held at the Oasis Church and the quilt show put on by the Cheyenne Quilt Guild inside the Liberty Theater.
And while this year the festival is on a single day, one of the most beloved facets of the festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, October 13. That’s the annual turkey and dressing dinner at the Senior Citizens Center. For a modest price, visitors can fill up on turkey and all the trimmings, right down to homemade pie for dessert. It is a great opportunity for visitors and residents alike to help support the center.
Early on festival day, there will be a Mason’s breakfast at the center, allowing vendors to get plenty to eat without spending a lot of time waiting. It begins at 7 a.m. That meal is to benefit Terry Pinkerton to help meet medical expenses.
At 8, runners can register for the Great Rat Race at the police station, 120 East First Street. At 8:30 a.m., at the center stage at Centennial Park on Main Street, there will be the official opening of the festival with the ceremonial Cutting of the Cheese. Mayor Bill Seitter will slice into a wheel of famous Watonga Cheese and declare the festival open.
The Rat Race will start at 9 a.m. as will the adoption event at the Community Cat Foundation, 314 S. Wikoff Avenue. The cheese tasting line will form at City Hall, 410 West Main, as well. There is also an opportunity to purchase cheese while there from the Watonga Kiwanis Club.
From 10 a.m.-3 p.m., there will be tours at the historic TB Ferguson Home Museum, at 521 N. Weigle Avenue. Step back in time to the early days of the Watonga Republican and peek into the life of the sixth territorial governor and first lady, TB and Elva Ferguson.
At noon, the annual Cheese Festival Parade will wind its way down Noble Avenue and at 1 p.m., the first in the nation Zona Verde home will open for tours at 3rd Street and Weigle Avenue.
Music will begin at 2 p.m. with Josh Lamle at Centennial Park and the drawing for the 2023 Cheese Festival Quilt will be held. Those tickets may be purchased at the Watonga Senior Center or from the Cheyenne Quilt Guild.
At 6 p.m., the block party will begin with the Cooksey Band downtown Watonga and continue until 9 p.m. when the festival officially closes.
Sponsors for this year’s festival include Lucky Star Casino, Bank 7, and First State Bank at the platinum level; Mercy Hospital at the gold level; June’s Plant Place and Mary Lee Jones State Farm at the silver level; Cimarron Electric at the bronze level; Pioneer Telephone, Watonga Motel and B&W RediMix at the diamond level. There are many other sponsors and supporters whose names and donations continue to accrue past press time.
Anyone who has questions or wishes to sponsor or donate may contact Kim Jenkins at City