Watonga makes a lot of cheese.
So much so that for 38 years, it has had a festival to celebrate it. Two years ago, some enterprising soul said, “Hey, you know what goes great with wine? We make a lot of in Oklahoma.” The answer is wine.
So while the festival has been going on for decades, Watonga Cheese Festival has been reinvented as Watonga Wine & Cheese Festival.
This weekend, downtown Watonga becomes home to live entertainment, crafts and all manner of food and drink. There will be cook-offs, tastings and the Race the Rail bike-versus-train race from Watonga to Geary. For more information about the race, visit racetherail.com.
There will also be wines and cheeses picked to celebrate our state as players in both industries, and sensory and lab judging awards — including Best of Show and People’s Choice — will be given during the festival. The festival is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday along Main Street in Watonga. For more information, visit watongacheesefestival.com.
Farm-to-school fork
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry announced its October Local Foods Challenge for Oklahoma schools to promote the use of local produce in school lunch plans.
The department also encourages schools to share recipe ideas and meal plans. The monthlong celebration also encourages learning about our state’s rich farming history and where food comes from. To learn more and get involved, visit okfarmtoschool.com.
Reds, Whites and Boots 2014
The Reds, Whites and Boots and An Iconic American Steakhouse Dinner benefits at Cattlemen’s Event Center, 1325 S. Agnew Ave., are good times for great causes.
Reds, Whites and Boots showcases many of the finest wines from California and Oregon and offers opportunities to bid on items from Nashville royalty while sipping wine. Red, White and Boots is Friday and costs $65, and the Saturday dinner is $100, but you can purchase discount tickets for both for $150.
Saturday, dust off those boots for An Iconic American Steakhouse Dinner. The ticket treats you to a dinner that melds 184 years of Cattlemen’s Steakhouse and Nashville’s Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse restaurant experience with a five-course meal with whiskey pairings.
Proceeds benefit Sanctuary Women’s Development Center, run by Catholic Charities of Oklahoma, which helps homeless and low-income women and children, regardless of their affiliation. Also benefitting is Tailored for Education, which provides school uniforms for impoverished children all over the globe.
To purchase tickets and learn more, visit redswhitesandboots.com.
Print headline: More cheese with that wine? Watonga Cheese Festival is reborn with added emphasis on wine and cheese pairings.
