Cochran Farm 1790 of St. Johnsville, NY, was one of several artisan cheese operations represented at the recent record-breaking Little Falls Cheese Festival. Cochran Farm coowner Patrick Apfel, above, welcomes a festival-goer to his booth. Photo credit: Dave Warner at mylittlefalls.com.

Little Falls, NY—The sixth installment of the Little Falls Cheese Festival here last month broke 2019’s attendance record, with cheese enthusiasts eager to gather after the cancellation of last year’s event.

Typically held in July, participants also appreciated the cooler October weather.

Going forward, Little Falls Cheese Festival organizers plan to keep the festival as a fall event.

It was estimated that the festival drew roughly 8,000 people over the course of the day – shattering the previous record of approximately 6,000 in 2019, organizers stated.

“We just didn’t know,” said Teri Chace, one of the event organizers. “Would people come out? Would our vendors do well enough to make it worth their while? Would the things we’d tried to improve work out?”

One of the improvements was instituting shuttle parking, with buses running continuously all day.

Another improvement was a Food Truck Food Court, organizers said.

The vendors had a welcome and needed boost, with many artisanal and farmstead New York State cheese makers selling out by mid-afternoon.

Cheese makers Cindy and Tim Powers of Poplar Hedge Farm commented “It was amazing talking with so many people and even after selling out, they were stopping and asking questions.”

Local brick-and-mortar shops and city restaurants also had a successful day, Little Falls Cheese Festival organizers said.

Store owner Melanie Pagan of Loft 32 West said she “made more in one day than what I made in the whole year before.”