Montreal, Canada — Dairy Farmers of Canada announced June 21 the return of one of Canada’s most exciting and unique sporting events. The Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival will be held on August 18, beginning at noon in Whistler, British Columbia. The afternoon will feature cheese rolling races, costume contests and other fun activities for the whole family. This one of a kind activity in Canada will be celebrating its fifth anniversary on Blackcomb Mountain.

A large wheel of cheese is rolled down a hill and daring Canadians chase after it. The first contestant to make it down the hill wins. British Columbia cheese maker Natural Pastures will once again produce the special 11-pound wheels of Cracked Pepper Verdelait cheese for the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival. The winners get to take home the giant, coveted wheel of delicious Canadian cheese and a Whistler season ski pass for two. Whistler village will be promoting the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival with activities, restaurant promotions and much more a few days before the event.

“The Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival is back in Whistler for an exciting fifth year,” says Solange Heiss, assistant director, marketing and nutrition communications, Dairy Farmers of Canada. “We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone with cheese-loving Canadians and visitors from all over the world. It’s a great activity for the entire family and a fantastic way to showcase the amazing cheeses this country has to offer.”

The race course will be set up in Whistler’s Upper Village on Blackcomb Mountain. Free round trip transportation to Blackcomb Mountain Base 2 parking lot via Excalibur Gondola in Whistler village is available for everyone. Anyone over 19 years of age can participate and contestants can register on site on August 18 at 11:00 a.m. The downhill event will consist of seven men’s and four women’s races. The winner from each round will compete in the finals. For the kids, there will be six uphill races in two heats, depending on their age.

New this year is the addition of a costume contest. Contestants are invited to wear costumes for the chance to win a $500 gift voucher to a local Whistler restaurant. Prior to each race heat, the official cheese roller will award costumed contestants a ribbon. After all the race heats, the Emcee will gather all ribbon-awarded costumed contestants at the base of the course, where a panel of judges will select their top five favorite costumes. Team costumes will be judged as one participating unit, not individually. The top five costumed contestants will be judged by the crowd. The contestant or team that receives the most applause will be selected as the costume contest winner.

Contestants, families and spectators can take in a host of other fun things at the festival, including activities for children, free cheese seminars, and a Cheese Market full of delicious samples of Canadian cheese made from 100% Canadian milk. Visitors will also be able to buy cheeses from different Canadian provinces. Well-known Canadian comic and award-winning host, Roman Danylo, will be hosting the day’s festivities again.

Image Courtesy of  Martino Pizzol

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