Sunday, September 6, 2009 9:54 PM CDT
Cheese-eating contest held despite the rain
By DAWN JAMES, Staff Writer
djames@jg-tc.com
ARTHUR — Forty contestants occupied five tables surrounded by friends and family as they participated in the 37th annual Amish Country Cheese Festival’s cheese eating contest held Saturday in Arthur.
The cheese-eating contest was held despite a dreary, rainy day, while the cheese curling contest was postponed until today at 1:30 p.m.
Thirty people competed in the 12-and-over category, while 10 competed in the 12-and-under contest Saturday.
Interest was high, as several approached the registration table just minutes before the contest began, creating a long list of alternates in case of any “no shows.”
Rod Randall, president of the Arthur Area Association of Commerce, said that each contestant was given a 1-pound block of cheese. As the contest was about to begin, the emcee noted that a 5-minute time period would be allowed, and the remains would be weighed at the end to determine the winner.
Wil Tobias of Sherman won in the 12-and-under category. He was at the event with his parents, Todd and Rhonda, who were attending because of the car show.
Tobias said he was told he left 12.5 ounces when the 5-minute time period ended.
Last year’s 12-and-under winner, Hayley Day of Decatur, was this year’s runner-up. She said this was her last year of eligibility in this category. She said she likes to enter the competition because she likes to eat cheese.
Third-place honors were taken by Cheridan Kellems, 9, of Urbana.
The event, a national contest sponsored by the National Cheese Eating Association located in Arthur, began with plenty of bottled water on hand. It was held under tents, keeping the contestants out of the rain.
Cheryl and Michael Warner of Decatur brought their daughter Bethany, 6, for the contest. It was her first time in the competition, and she had been planning for the event for weeks, according to her father.
“She would eat cheese for every meal,” said Mrs. Warner.
According to Susan Gregg of Sioux City, Iowa, her son Curtis won the contest two years ago, and last year he was the runner-up. Mrs. Gregg works for a cheese plant in Iowa.
They had come to watch their son participate, but she said he opted out this year as he remembered not feeling very well at the end of last year’s contest. Curtis said when he won the competition in 2007, he ate the entire 1-pound block of cheese.
Andrew Blakemore of Rochester, Mich. was this year’s winner of the 12-and-older category.
Blakemore said his best friend, Bryan Cortes of Tuscola, invited him to compete with him in the contest. Cortes finished second.
“It (the contest) was all right,” he said. “I just ate it as fast as I could.”
Blakemore said that when it came down to the last 10 seconds, he just starting shoving the rest of the pieces of cheese into his mouth.
“This is my first year, and hopefully not the last,” he said.
Dustin Gross of Champaign finished third. He said he knew halfway through the competition that he wasn’t going to be able to finish the block of cheese.
The winners of the two categories each received a trophy and an Arthur Cheese Festival T-shirt.
Contact Dawn James at djames@jg-tc.com or 238-6866.
Monday at the Arthur Cheese Festival
6 a.m., Arthur Lions Club Sausage & Biscuits Breakfast, Arthur Community Building.
7:30 a.m., Register for all Rat Races, Arthur Information Center
8 a.m., 1 Mile, Walkers and
5K Rat Race Run, Progress Street
9 a.m., Festival opens.
9:15 a.m., Kiddie Fun Run Rat Race begins, Vine Street.
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Buggy Rides, North of Arthur Information Center.
10:30 a.m., Cheese Festival Parade, Arthur Mennonite Church through festival area.
11 a.m., Travis Parks, Gazebo Parking Lot Stage
12:30 p.m., Stephanie Foster, Gazebo Parking Lot Stage
12:30 p.m., Free 60-foot sub sandwich, Cheese Tent, East Illinois Street.
1 p.m., Prairieland Tumbling & Trampoline demonstration, Cheesy Hollow
*1:30 p.m., 10th Annual International Cheese Curling Championships
2 p.m., Joey Kelly Circus, North section of Artie’s Party Zone
2:30 p.m., Free Cheese Giveaway, Cheese Tent.
3 p.m., Twang City, Gazebo Parking Lot Stage
*event rescheduled
from Saturday
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