Celebrating the cheese curd at the Redhead Creamery Curd Fest near Brooten

Carolyn Lange, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Jun. 13—BROOTEN — The third annual Curd Fest gets underway June 19 at the Redhead Creamery and Jer-Lindy Farms near Brooten.

The all-day, outdoor event celebrates everything cheesy, including Redhead Creamery's pan-fried cheese curds and chocolate-covered cheese curd kabobs to name a few.

The on-the-farm festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., includes live music by two bands, a variety of eats from food trucks and unique vendors and beer and wine from regional brew houses and wineries.

The day includes self-guided dairy farm tours, the Cow Camp Cow Crawl — including a petting zoo — and other family-friendly activities.

Live music will be provided by 2nd Notion and Timbre Junction.

Beer will be provided by three breweries: Foxhole Brewhouse from Willmar, Goat Ridge Brewing Co. from New London and Minnewaska House Brewing Co. from Glenwood.

The Grandview Valley Winery from Belview and Rolling Forks Vineyards near Glenwood will feature their local wines.

There will be three food trucks on the grounds: Jupiter Moon Ice Cream, Minnewaska House Grill and South Meats North BBQ; and at least five other vendors, including Lucky's Sauces, Milk Made Catering, Reality Roasters Coffee Company, Smude's Sunflower Oil and Terroir Chocolate.

Admission is $12 in advance at RedheadCreamery.com or $15 at the door. Children 11 and under are free. A limited number of VIP packages are available, which includes meeting with Redhead Creamery founder Alise Sjostrom prior to gate opening, as well as a collection of curd swag, farm tour and band seating.

Redhead Creamery, which makes cheese from milk produced right on the farm, features many types of cheddar — like Clothbound Cave-Aged Garlic Cheddar, Lucky Linda Clothbound Cheddar, Margie Cheddar and Red Temper Honey Chipotle Cheddar, as well as Little Lucy Brie, North Fork Whiskey Washed Munster, Ridiculously Fresh cheddar cheese curds, Tipsy Tilsiter and some exclusive summer varieties.

In the case of inclement weather, admission can be converted to a Redhead Creamery gift card.

Redhead Creamery, located at 3135 463rd Ave., Brooten, hosts weekly farm tours at 12:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, holds regular store hours noon to 2:30 p.m. Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and makes biweekly deliveries to the Twin Cities and Fargo, in addition to weekly deliveries within an hour of their farm. This summer the creamery is also selling its cheese at eight local farmers markets each week.