Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship.
A classic winter sport got cheesy in Greensboro last month.
For the fourth year in a row, the Highland Center for the Arts partnered with Jasper Hill Farm to host Curds and Curling on Feb. 21. At the event, traditional granite curling stones were swapped out for wheels of cheddar, and any eventgoer could sign up to curl a wheel along the ice.
Elsa Althoff, the creative director at the Highland Center for the Arts, said the event draws all kinds of people.
“We get people for Curds and Curling that we don’t always see for other events,” Althoff said. “I mean, it is such a niche, right? Who wants to go to an event where you are curling with huge wheels of cheese? Like, that’s objectively kind of weird. So it brings out a bunch of fun people.”
Althoff said the idea for the event started with a conversation between Highland Center for the Arts Executive Director Keisha Luce and Jasper Hill Farm Head Cheesemaker Mateo Keeler.
“Mateo said, ‘It’s always been my dream to curl with cheese.’ And Keisha said, ‘Well, let’s make that dream a reality.’ And then they started Curds and Curling,” Althoff said.
In addition to curling, event attendees of all ages could participate in several other winter games, like sledding, snowball archery, and “bigfoot races” — an activity where participants walk in sync on wooden boards. Inside, out of the cold, the No Strings Marionette Company put on a show.
And, of course, there was a whole lot of cheese on offer throughout the event.
“Jasper Hill actually does their own raclette, which is melted cheese that is served out of a wheel of cheese onto potato or bread,” Althoff said.
At the end of the day, curling team Gettin’ Cheddar Everyday was crowned champion of the cheesiest curling competition in the Northeast Kingdom.