The 12th annual Cream Cheese Festival will return to historic downtown Lowville, in the heart of Lewis County, Saturday, Sept. 17, and is gearing up for another great year of family-friendly fun.
The free admission event — which will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — celebrates Lowville’s status as home to the nation’s largest cream cheese plant, and, as of 2013, home of the World’s Largest Cheesecake. In 2013, the festival welcomed a representative from Guinness World Records who certified the cheesecake made by the Kraft Foods (now Kraft Heinz) plant on Utica Boulevard was in deed the world’s largest. The massive creation weighed in at 6,900 pounds — more than 2,000 pounds heavier than the prior mark of 4,703 set in 2009 by a Kraft Foods plant in the country of Mexico.
The event even drew celebrity pastry chef and television personality Duff Goldman, known for his former Food Network reality television show “Ace of Cakes.” Goldman was on hand representing the Share Our Strength’s “No Kid Hungry” campaign, which collected donations at the festival to help children suffering from hunger.
The Cream Cheese Festival has attracted much attention since it inception in 2005. The popular travel website TripAdvisor listed the Cream Cheese Festival as one of the top 10 wackiest summer festivals in 2011 and 2012.
Lowville Village Mayor Donna M. Smith has been quoted as saying the event has brought much attention to Lewis County and brought many people to the region, helping the local economy if even one day a year.
“I think it’s just awesome that we have this,” Mrs. Smith said in a recent interview. “It’s really a nationally known festival.”
This year’s event will again include delicious food, great entertainment, local artists, wacky contests for children and adults with cash prizes awarded, and, of course, a chance to sample an amazing cheesecake created by Kraft Heinz.
The festival will once again feature the popular Children’s Discovery Park, located each year at the Veteran Memorial Park along Parkway Drive, with many activities for kids, including a zipline, rock climbing wall, bounce house, and much, much more.
Those wishing to have a keepsake to remember the event by can even do so at the festival’s souvenir store, which offers commemorative T-shirts and other merchandise. Platinum sponsors this year include Kraft Heinz, Marks Farms, Superior Plus, Suburban Propane and the village of Lowville. Media sponsors are television station WWNY 7News/Fox 28 and radio station North Country Public Radio. NCPR’s Barb Heller will once again serve as emcee for the event.
For more information about the Cream Cheese Festival, visit www.creamcheesefestival.
Jeremiah S. Papineau at 315-748-6361 or
creamcheesefestival@gmail.com.