Blur bass guitarist alex james at the great british cheese festival
The Great British Cheese Festival, is a festival held in Wales (previously held in the South or West of England) on the last weekend of every September.
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The great british cheese festival 26 27 september 2009
History
The first annual event was held in 2000 in Oxfordshire, and was founded by Juliet Harbutt. Each year it is preceded by the British Cheese Awards, a ceremony which she had already created in 1994, judged by food experts and farmers, with the best cheeses are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold medals. All cheeses are tasted blind, and the winners can then display their awards during the public-attended festival. There are usually a variety of events at the festivals such as cheese rolling, demonstrations and stalls selling cheeses and other goods.
After a few years in Oxfordshire the event moved to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. However, in 2006 the Sunday of the weekend was cancelled at great cost due to flooding of the venue, so the decision was made to return to Oxfordshire for 2007.
Early in 2008 the festival was sold to Cardiff Council; subsequently the event has been in the grounds of Cardiff Castle in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
The 2012 Great British Cheese Festival will be held at Cardiff Castle on Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23.