Canadian Cheese Rolling festival keeps growing

Today, in Whistler, British Columbia, 141 ambitious competitors and over ten thousand cheese lovers gathered for the eighth edition of the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival, hosted by Dairy Farmers of Canada. The much anticipated festival featured cheese rolling races, a costume contest and other fun activities for the whole family.

Competitors spent the afternoon chasing an 11-pound wheel of Boerenkaas, produced by British Columbia cheese maker Natural Pastures, down Blackcomb Mountain until a champion was declared. Rebecca Sharar, from Bainbridge, Washington, won the women’s race and Paul Nguyen, from Whistler, British Columbia, won the men’s race.

The two Grand Champions each went home with a wheel of the delectable Canadian cheese and Whistler season's ski passes for two. In addition to the men's and women's races, 145 children also participated in uphill races.

"Another Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival, another great year! Year-after-year, the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival surpasses our expectations," said Sandra Da Silva, assistant director, external communications, Dairy Farmers of Canada." Dairy Farmers of Canada is thrilled to share the love, passion and enthusiasm for Canadian cheese produced from coast-to-coast with Canadians and visitors from all over the world again."

To add to the fun, all attendees and racers over the age of 19 were encouraged to come wearing a costume for a chance to win gift cards from Marketplace IGA. A panel of judges selected the top five costumes and the crowd was tasked with selecting the winner: Katie Bayer, Laura Chipman, Mary Forbes, Lydia Fulton, and Rebecca Sharar won the favour of the crowd with their cheesy team costume and took home a $250 gift card. Additional prizes of $150 and $100 gift cards were awarded to Cara Comfort, Ted and Tom Hornsby, and Sylvia Stellmacher, and to Louie Miesen and Shizcka Yoshimura, respectively.

In addition to watching the races, cheese lovers took in a host of other fun activities including games, cheese tasting seminars, recipe demos with chef Ned Bell, and sampling dozens of delicious Canadian cheeses made from 100% Canadian milk.

Visit canadiancheeserolling.ca for race results. High resolution photos and video footage from the event are also available for download in the website's newsroom: canadiancheeserolling.ca/newsroom/.