I take pictures while driving. Don’t worry — I usually pull over to a safe spot. I’ve written recently about how much I love driving through the Midwest, especially after a cleansing rain that tamps down the corn sweat (Smile Politely’s Editor in Chief is no fan of corn sweat). But here in Central Illinois, we love our festival season, with or without the corn sweat. For those new to the area, be sure to take advantage of the small town festivals surrounding Champaign-Urbana. Get a flavor for the region and enjoy some of the freshest produce during this first part of an Illinois harvest. Just don’t forget those allergy meds.
I hit the road last Saturday to Arthur’s Cheese Festival, an annual Labor Day weekend cheese-a-palooza. It’s as typical a small town festival as there is. Plenty of food trucks with corn dogs, cheese fries, fried cheese, funnel cakes, and some amazing homegrown popcorn. No surprise, we have some of the best popcorn around. You’ve probably seen plenty of Amish country popcorn, noodles, and goods in the local grocery stores in Champaign-Urbana, most of which come from in and around the Arthur, Lovington, Atwood, Hammond, and Arcola area. I think we should have a popcorn festival, complete with outdoor movies, plenty of fresh mixed sodas from area diners and soda fountains, and buckets of cheese salt. But that’s just me.
Arthur is perhaps best known for the large Amish population in the area. During the Cheese Festival, people enjoy buggy and pony rides as some of the local families welcome tourists to town for the festival. There are plenty of horse-drawn buggies clopping through town and that’s a sound we don’t get to hear everywhere.
I love people-watching at each vendor’s stand, ordering delicious bright lemon shake ups, fresh brewed sweet tea from SweeTea’z neon sky-blue on black background food truck, fried corn, and delicious sizzling smoked brisket sandwiches. Bierman Farms, sporting a jolting electric lime green Food Truck out of Effingham, was selling plenty of fresh ribeye sandwiches, smash burgers with bacon, and some sexy street tacos, topped with vibrant red salsa and translucent onions.
At this point it’s pretty clear why I’m the Arts Editor for Smile Politely and not a food writer. See, I didn’t actually eat any food at the festival. I talked to people eating food. I even ran into couple of my Parkland students who were raving about the cheese fries and smash burgers. I saw dozens of people enjoying burgers and fries. Here’s the thing; the unmistakable acrid smell of corn oil in which most things are fried just doesn’t do it for me. By “doesn’t do it,” I mean I can’t eat within a five-mile radius of that smell. Even if it’s produced by our local meadow-green and dandelion-yellow corn (see what I mean). Eau de processed corn oil is a familiar fragrance for our Decatur neighbors who have endured it wafting through town from the Staley plant for decades. If you know, you know. In Champaign, many of us recall afternoons taking in the pungent aroma seeping out of the Kraft plant. There are plenty of people who adore everything about fried festival food. Families drive for miles to fairs to enjoy funnel cakes and corn dogs. Don’t send me hate mail because fried food makes me sick. I cannot eat it on a stick. Will not eat on a brick. Not with my friend, Mick. I care not for fried foods a lick.
Our local festivals are occasions to enjoy community in all of its grand visual and sonic spectacle. That’s what took me to Arthur’s Cheese Festival. I went for the brightly-clad clown, the walking and waving Cheese and Mouse, the smiling festival-goers, the children enjoying pony rides and bounce houses. Of course, I popped into the Stitch and Sew to grab this year’s All Illinois Quilt Shop Hop fabrics, including a novel accent fabric with orange monarch butterflies amidst wild violets. Arthur’s United Methodist Church was hosting an art fair where locals were selling lovely framed pieces and old Depression glass repurposed into delightful birdbaths.
I’m drawn to the bold aesthetic of Pig Out’s razmatazz pink food stand, which also uses a clever font to advertise their tenderloins, burgers, and fries. The colorful variety of the food vendors and the kindness of the community-minded entrepreneurs that inhabit them, including Laura and her Old Fashioned Lemonade stand sparkling in bright SpongeBob yellow with magenta trim, draw me out to every local festival during these final weeks of summer.
I was assigned the Cheese Festival because I love it — I love everything about it. There were plenty of charity organizations out raising funds for the high school art program and raising awareness for people struggling with mental health issues. Surrounded by voluptuous farms, rolling hills (ok, mounds, work with me), and the trickling sounds of the Kaskaskia and Lake Fork Rivers, festivals provide our towns with a welcome economic boost and give families one more fun weekend together before heavy homework hits and the routine of the school year is in full swing. School has started, but it’s still summer. Just for one last corn sweat-soaked moment.
Next week, Arcola hosts its annual Broomcorn Festival, another unique and storied place to take in the local flavors — and colors — of East Central Illinois.
Arthur Cheese Festival
Labor Day Weekend
Downtown Arthur, IL
