Guide to the 2023 Little Falls NY Cheese Festival
Your Guide to the 2023 Little Falls NY Cheese Festival
Are you planning on attending the 2023 Little Falls Cheese Festival? Here are some tips from cheese festival pros that will help prepare you for the event.
What? The eighth annual Little Falls Cheese Festival
Where? Main Street, Little Falls, NY (Use NYS Thruway Exit 29A)
When? Saturday, October 7th, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
First, check out littlefallscheesefestival.com before you go. This will give you the opportunity to scout out vendors and make a wish list, as well as see the times and locations of music acts and free performances of “Where’s the Cheese?” by the Little Falls Theater.
Make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes, as the festival stretches across five blocks of Main Street and you’ll want to cruise the entire length of the festival to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Bring a cooler bag to keep your purchases fresh, as it can get warm in October.
Plan to leave your dog at home, as the festival is on pavement and likely to be crowded, making for a stressful outing for our four-legged friends. Service dogs are allowed.
Take advantage of the free shuttle service to and from downtown Little Falls. No cruising around looking for parking, no stress, no worries – the festival has added buses this year, which means less waiting.
Signs will steer visitors to free parking at either Veteran’s Field (274 Burwell Street) or Industrial Park (25 Industrial Park), with shuttle buses running continuously from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Be sure to pick up the free Festival Program Booklet when you arrive. Not only will this have a helpful map in the centerfold, but the booklet contains information about Little Falls’ involvement in cheese history.
Speaking of cheese history, be sure to check out the Herkimer Home booth at the M&T Bank pocket park (501 E. Main Street). The Herkimer Home booth will feature dairy tools, colonial clothing, depictions of dairy production during that time, and (weather permitting) periodic demonstrations using 18th-century reproductions of butter churns, cheese presses, and other tools. The booth will also feature children’s activities, such as mason jar butter-making.
Arrive at 10 a.m. when the festival opens to ensure your favorite vendors haven’t run out of anything, and you’ll likely beat the crowds.
Don’t forget to take a mid-day break! All the local restaurants, pubs, and cafes will be open, and the popular “food truck food court” in the M&T Bank parking lot offers a full variety of refreshments and includes live music and plenty of shaded seating.
Above all else, have fun! The Little Falls Cheese Festival is New York State’s premier gathering of cheesemakers, with an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people in attendance last year. For more information, follow the Little Falls Cheese Festival on Facebook, Instagram, or by visit littlefallscheesefestival.com.
