The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, the showcase of the best in Canadian cheese and artisan foods that attracted thousands of foodies to Prince Edward County for seven years, is being resurrected by new ownership in a spectacular new venue in Kingston, Ontario.
Tickets are on sale for the May 24-25 festival at Fort Henry, a National Historic Site, built following the War of 1812.
The 19th-century fortress overlooks Kingston and Lake Ontario, offering an unforgettable backdrop for celebrating Canada’s finest cheeses and artisanal foods. With its grand stone architecture and expansive outdoor grounds, Fort Henry combines history and open space, creating a welcoming environment for festival-goers to explore Canadian flavours in a truly iconic location.
The fort’s vast grounds are ideal for the festival, providing ample room for vendor booths, cheese tastings, informative seminars and live entertainment, all with a scenic lakeside view. Guests can savour cheese, artisan foods and craft beverage pairings in a relaxed, spacious layout that allows for mingling with producers and artisans.
Fort Henry is a two-hour drive from Ottawa, three hours from Toronto or Montreal. Kingston offers many choices for accommodations and plenty of first-class restaurants.
The driving force behind the new Great Canadian Cheese Festival is Patricia McDermott, owner of Agrarian Market in Picton since 2012 and operator of farmers markets in the County for the last 15 years.
“After starting my cheese shop in Bloomfield in the County over 10 years ago, and attending the original Great Canadian Cheese Festival, I knew I wanted to bring my love of cheese to more people. That’s the motivation that led me to produce the new Great Canadian Cheese Festival and the Ontario Cheese Festival on rotating years.”
The Great Canadian Cheese Festival brings together many of the country’s best cheesemakers and artisan food producers for two full days of meeting, tasting, buying and learning.
It’s the biggest artisan cheese show in Canada, with more than 100 exhibitors and vendors offering hundreds of artisan food products, including over 300 cow, sheep, goat, and water buffalo milk cheeses, plus wine, craft beer, distilleries, zero proof, and cideries, pickles, jams, honey, charcuterie, and more.
Tutored tastings will be led and cheeses selected by acclaimed cheese sommelier Vanessa Simmons of Ottawa and cheese educator Roxanne Renwick of Toronto.
Here’s the schedule of events for two jam-packed days of cheese, cheese and more cheese:
SATURDAY MAY 24
- 8am ‘Taking down the inter-provincial borders’
Professional Development Seminar - 9am Vendor coffee meet up & set up
- 10am Great Canadian Cheese Festival opens to the public
- 11am ‘Everybody Loves a Winner!’
Tutored Tasting #1 in the Great Hall - 12pm ‘Kids Make Cheese!’
- Educational seminar and cheesemaking course for ages 10-17 on the Upper Patio
- 1pm ‘The Finest Quebec Cheese’
Tutored Tasting #2 in the Great Hall - 3pm ‘All Around the Farmyard’
Tutored Tasting #3 in the Great Hall - 5pm Day 1 Festival Close
- All Day Howard Lopez Jazz on the Main Stage
- All Day Where does Milk come from? An interactive petting zoo/milking simulator
- All Day Live activations from various sponsors
SUNDAY MAY 25
- 8am ‘Understanding International Dairy Trade’
Professional Development Seminar - 9am Vendor coffee meet up & set up
- 10am Day 2 Festival opens
- 11am ‘The Finest Quebec Cheese’
Tutored Tasting #4 in the Great Hall - 12pm ‘Kids Make Cheese!’
- Educational seminar and cheesemaking course for ages 10-17 on the Upper Patio
- 1pm ‘Everybody Loves a Winner!’
Tutored Tasting #5 in the Great Hall - 4pm 2025 Great Canadian Cheese Festival closes
- All Day Howard Lopez Jazz on the Main Stage
- All Day Where does Milk come from? An interactive petting zoo/milking simulator
- All Day Live activations from various sponsors
To sample all the cheese and artisan foods on offer, and take in all the events, plan on making a weekend of it.
Click here to order tickets before they sell out.
Personally, I cannot wait for May 24-25. From my experience as founder and director of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton from 2011 to 2017, there is nothing quite like gathering with kindred spirits to try and buy the best of artisan cheese and sample other artisan foods in the ambiance of an iconic venue like Fort Henry.
—Georgs Kolesnikovs
