Plymouth’s second Cheese Capital Festival will feature cheese-eating and mac n cheese contests, Johnsonville Racing Sausages and more.

PLYMOUTH – The Cheese Capital Festival returns to downtown Plymouth for its second year to celebrate the city’s cheese heritage.

The free festival in the "Cheese Capital of the World" has several attractions scheduled, like live music, parade and cheese-eating contest, from June 7-8.

The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event with support from several local cheese companies: Sargento Foods, Masters Gallery Foods, Sartori Cheese and Great Lakes Cheese. Other sponsors include Johnsonville, Arch Solar and Van Horn Automotive Group. Local businesses will offer giveaways during the event.

About 14% of the country’s cheese goes through Plymouth, according to a news release.

Plymouth has celebrated its cheese heritage with other events, like the Cheese Capital Wine Walk and the Cheese Capital Jazz Walk.

Friday night features macaroni and cheese contest

Local restaurants will compete for the best macaroni and cheese dishes in a cooking contest at 6 p.m. Friday. The judges will consist of local chefs and community leaders. There will be performances from the acoustic pair Abler McManus Duo and classic rock band Charlie Bucket at night, too.

Saturday brings a parade, cheese-eating contest and a kids' area

The second day will kick off with a cheese-themed parade at 11 a.m., followed by a cheese-eating contest at 1 p.m. and a cheese wedge race at 4 p.m.

Contestants in the cheese-eating competition will have three minutes to try to finish a 1-pound block of cheese. The top three finishers will win cash and cheese prizes.

Registration is open at the Stayer Park Pavilion from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 8. Only nine contestants can enter. There will be a drawing if more than nine people are interested. They must be at least 18 years old and sign a liability waiver.

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Participants can purchase a foam cheese wedge that will be entered in a race down the Mullet River. Race tickets can be bought at the Plymouth Chamber office. One ticket is $5 and five tickets are $20. The top prize is $1,000. All proceeds will benefit the Chamber’s scholarship fund.

A Kids' Zone, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will have a bouncy house, face painting, cows and more. There will be a mascot corner where kids can meet the Johnsonville Racing Sausages, too.

Cheese Talks will be held at the Plymouth Arts Center, 520 E. Mill St. Sargento will host a cheese-making demonstration at noon; Masters Gallery will host a cheese grading presentation at 2 p.m.; and Sartori will host a cheese pairing presentation at 3 p.m.

Vendors will sell goods downtown, and Just4Fun DJ, Swing Crew and Smoke Road will play at the Stayer Park Pavilion throughout the day.

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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Cheese Capital Festival in Plymouth will have cheese-eating contests