Tickets to the popular Meet the Cheesemaker Gala, part of the Third Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival, will go on sale to the public on Monday, Sept. 19, offering attendees the chance to meet 35 cheesemakers and taste more than 150 of the state’s finest artisan, farmstead and specialty cheeses.

Set for Friday, Nov. 4 at the Monona Terrace in downtown Madison, tickets to the Meet the Cheesemaker Gala will be available Monday morning online at www.wicheesefest.com. To accommodate more attendees, the Gala will be ticketed a bit differently this year, offering two different time slots, from 6 to 8 p.m., and 8 to 10 p.m. Each session will be limited to 250 attendees, allowing everyone to personally meet and greet cheesemakers in a relaxed and enjoyable setting.

New this year, cheese will be offered for sale by Metcalfe’s Market in a room adjacent to the Gala. Attendees should come ready to taste and then purchase their favorite cheeses.

For a complete line-up of all cheeses, companies and cheesemakers attending the event, visit: http://www.wicheesefest.com/meet-the-cheesemaker

The Friday evening Meet the Cheesemaker Gala is just one of a wide array of events taking place during the annual festival. Other events, most of which have already sold out to members of Wisconsin Cheese Originals, include: three different creamery and dairy farm tours, ten cheesemaker dinners, and eight tasting and educational seminars.

Wisconsin Cheese Originals thanks the sponsors of the Third Annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival, including: Gold-Level sponsors Klondike Cheese, World Import Distributors, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board; Silver-Level sponsors BelGioioso Cheese, Dairy Business Innovation Center, Emmi Roth USA, Fromagination, Organic Valley, Uplands Cheese; and Bronze-Level sponsors American Cheese Society, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Edible Madison, Fromartharie, and Meister Cheese.