Little Falls Celebrates Annual Cheese Festival
LITTLE FALLS —
Saturday’s Little Falls Cheese Festival offered various slices of home, so to speak, for Elma Marrone and Antonia Carter.
The third annual festival brought more than 50 vendors to East Main Street, with about 30 New York state cheesemakers represented through nearly 120 different types.
One of those was gouda, a Dutch cheese — and a favorite for both Marrone and Carter, natives of the Netherlands who settled in Herkimer and Cooperstown, respectively, within the last decade.
“Being Dutch, we’ve been always attracted to cheese since it’s part of our roots,” Marrone said. “We’re so used to the Dutch cheese, but New York is so creative with their cheeses. They’re creative by putting a lot of flavors and herbs in the cheeses.”
The amount of participating businesses has certainly grown since the Little Falls Cheese Festival’s inception, said festival Chairwoman Alice Laurenson. This year also marked the first with wine vendors.
Intermittent rain showers drove people to take cover beneath overhangs of bordering Main Street businesses.
Laurenson said the volunteer-driven festival nevertheless saw visitors from all across the country.
With such a strong response, organizers are considering the development of a cheese-trail program.
“The whole city really comes together because they love cheese,” Laurenson said. “There’s such a palpable excitement.”
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