Past contestants pose by the hard-to-hit bullseye with a broom.

Go cheese tossing at Arthur Cheese Festival

By: Marco Santana/Verge Editor

Posted: 8/29/08

To read more about the Arthur Cheese festival, click here

The premise seems simple.

Take a four-pound cheese wheel.

Shot put, roll or toss it onto a bulls-eye and score points based on where your partner stops it with a broom.

But looks can be deceiving.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," said George Fritz, an organizer of the Arthur Cheese Festival who oversees the cheese-curling event. "Ninety percent of the time, they don't (hit the bulls-eye)."

Competitive cheese curling begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the 37th Annual Arthur Cheese Festival, just 30 miles northwest of Charleston. The festival begins Saturday morning.

Cheese curling has been a part of the festival for between five and seven years, Fritz said.

"This is a world-sanctioned sport," he said with tongue placed firmly in cheek. "It's just that this is one of the only places in the United States to do it."

The sport is sanctioned by the International Cheese Curling Association, which Fritz said is based in Arthur.

A team of four players chooses one person to toss the four-pound wheel of Baby Swiss cheese and the other three use brooms to manipulate it as it approaches the bulls-eye.

The closer it lands near the bulls-eye, the more points scored, with the middle being worth four points. Contestants keep their wheel after the competition.

The event draws several types of people. Three-year-olds mix it up with 93-year-olds.

And, of course, there's always a strong showing of college students.

Fritz said about half of the contestants are college students from Eastern and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which often leads to rivalries developing.

Contestants can show up with a partner or try to find one at the festival.

"It's a really good way to meet people," Fritz said.

He said the festival draws between 30,000 and 40,000 people each year.

While the competition is all in good fun, Fritz said poor performance would not be excused.

"If they're terrible, we'll let them know," the event's emcee said. "People have good fun with it, they have a good time doing it."

The 37th Annual Arthur Cheese Festival begins Saturday morning and goes through Monday. Here's a listing of events:

Saturday
9 a.m.	Sidewalk sales, pony rides, wagons rides, petting zoo, strolling clowns, flea, craft, and food vendors downtown.
10:30 a.m.	Gene Trimble Strolling Clown band
11 a.m.	Live music: Battle Creek Country
Noon	The celebratory first cutting of the cheese officially opens the festival. - Main Cheese Tent
Noon	Car Show begins on Hickory St.
Noon and 2 p.m.	Joey Kelly Circus on South Vine Street
12:30 p.m.	FREE CHEESE GIVEAWAY - Main Cheese Tent
2:30 p.m.	Cheese eating competition - Main Cheese Tent
3 p.m.	Live music: Jim Easter and the Artistics
4 p.m.	Cheese curling team championships - Main Cheese Tent
6 p.m.	Live music: Sojourn (classic rock)
8 p.m.	Festival Closes for the Day

Sunday
11:30 a.m.	Sidewalk sales, pony rides, wagons rides, petting zoo, strolling clowns, flea, craft, and food vendors downtown.
Noon and 2 p.m.	Joey Kelly Circus on South Vine Street
12:30 p.m.	FREE CHEESE GIVEAWAY - Main Cheese Tent
1 p.m.	Live music: Power of Praise (gospel)
1 p.m.	Children's tractor pull
3 p.m.	Live music: Gunny Sack Revue (gospel and bluegrass)
5 p.m.	Festival Closes for the Day

Monday
7: 30 a.m.	Rat Race 5k run/walk registration at Visitors Center
8 a.m.	Rat Race 1 mile begins
8:30 a.m.	Rat Race walkers and 5 k begins
9 a.m.	Sidewalk sales, pony rides, wagons rides, petting zoo, strolling clowns, flea, craft, and food vendors downtown.
9:15 a.m.	Kids "Chase the Cheese" Fun Run
10:30 a.m.	Cheese Festival parade
Noon	Live music: Twang City (country)
Noon and 2 p.m.	Joey Kelly Circus on South Vine Street
2:30 p.m.	FREE CHEESE GIVEAWAY - Main Cheese Tent

Directions:

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