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Cream Cheese Festival to Return to Downtown Lowville
September 21
Published: September 09, 2024
at 07:30 p.m.
By: Press Release from Cream Cheese Festival
Committee
Cream Cheese Festival to return to Downtown Lowville
September 21st
 LOWVILLE, N.Y. — The annual
Cream Cheese Festival will return to historic downtown Lowville, in the
heart of Lewis County, Saturday, Sept. 21. The free admission event — which
will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — is presented by the Lowville Business
Association and celebrates Lowville being home to the nation’s largest
cream cheese plant, Kraft Heinz, which produces Philadelphia cream cheese.
Lowville native
Beth Hall, co-host of 7News This Morning on WWNY-TV-7 and FOX 28, will
again serve as emcee for this year’s event, kicking off festivities from
the Main Stage on North State Street. Musical entertainment for that stage,
coordinated by Jasyn Griffin, will again begin this year starting at 11
a.m. Opening ceremonies at the Main Stage will officially kick things off
at 12 p.m.
Festival chairman
Jeremiah S. Papineau said the committee is looking forward to the return of
this great community event.
“We look forward
to this awesome community event every year,” said Mr. Papineau. “The
support of the community, our sponsors, and not least of which, our amazing
volunteers, really makes this happen. An entirely volunteer-run event like
this could not happen without people giving so generously of their time,
talents and resources. This is what a small town is all about.”
This year's event
will feature the unveiling of a giant cheesecake created by the local Kraft
Heinz facility, with free slices given out following the opening ceremonies
at 12 p.m. The festival will again include delicious food, great
entertainment, a wide array of vendors, the traditional recipe contest, and
the Children’s Discovery Park, featuring attractions by Adventures in
Climbing in Veterans Memorial Park along Parkway Drive.
In addition to
entertainment at the Main Stage on North State Street, musical
entertainment will be offered at the Veterans Stage next to American Legion
Post 162 on Parkway Drive.
“We’ve got
another stellar line-up for both stages, coordinated by Jasyn, offering
something for everyone,” said Mr. Papineau. “It’s a great mix of local
performers and others from outside our region that people will recognize.”
The Children’s
Discovery Park is the only portion of the festival that charges admission,
at a cost of $10 per child. Admission gives children and an accompanying
adult access to attractions all day and choice of
popcorn, cotton candy or snow-cone for the child. The cost of admission for
the Children’s Discovery Park increased this year for the first time since
it was first offered many years ago.
“We’ve held
steady the cost of admission to the Children’s Discovery Park for many,
many years but we realized it was finally time to increase the cost as the
cost for all things have gone up over the years,” said Mr. Papineau. “It’s
still a great value for all-day access to the attractions we have there,
thanks to our friends at Adventures in Climbing.”
Mr. Papineau
added he and the committee are looking forward to another great year of the
festival.
 “I cannot emphasize enough how we have an
amazing committee, all who volunteer countless hours of their time to make
this festival happen,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have these caring
individuals continue this tradition of offering a family-friendly event
here in Lewis County.”
Like last year,
this year’s event will not include the wacky contests it has held in the
past. Originally, this was due to additional safety precautions in response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that continued last year due to a lack of a games coordinator. The festival still does not have a
games coordinator so this year’s event will again not include contests.
“While it again
saddens us to not be able to offer this attraction at the festival, as we
said last year, it’s the unfortunate reality that comes with this being an
entirely volunteer-run festival,” said Mr. Papineau. “We hope to bring back
this piece of the event in the future.”
Despite this, Mr.
Papineau said he believes people will continue to turn out for the vendors,
entertainment, food, the Children’s Discovery Park and, of course,
cheesecake.
RECIPE CONTEST
DETAILS
One of the most
popular events at the festival is its annual recipe contest.
Those wishing to
participate may pick up six free packages of Philadelphia cream cheese at
the Lowville Kraft Heinz facility, 7388 Utica Blvd., Wednesday, Sept. 18,
and Thursday, Sept. 19, from 12 to 4 p.m. both days. Those picking up cream
cheese from the local Kraft Heinz facility must furnish a copy of their
recipe upon pick-up.
Entries will be
judged based on presentation, creativity and taste. Points in the judging
are weighted – the most points are awarded for the taste component, the
next highest points are awarded in creativity, and the fewest points are
awarded for presentation.
Entries must be
delivered to the recipe contest booth located inside the Lowville Fire Hall
between 8 and 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. Parking is available in the
Lowville Free Library lot during drop-off hours, with access to the fire
hall available via the rear entry doorway on Parkway Drive.
Displays are
limited to a 2 ft. by 2 ft. area on the table and only the registration
number should be visible on an entry. Electrical outlets will be available.
In addition, all
entries must be prepared with Philadelphia cream cheese and any recipe
submitted becomes the property of Kraft Heinz. Entries must be picked up by
2 p.m. the day of the contest. Kraft Heinz is not
responsible for any dish not picked up that day.
This year’s
contest will have both dessert and non-dessert categories with cash prizes
awarded.
Those wishing to
register for the recipe contest must send an email in advance to the Cream
Cheese Festival Committee to creamcheesefestival@gmail.com or
call 315-748-6361.
PARKING AND ROAD
CLOSURE DETAILS
Parking for the
festival will again be at the Lewis County Fairgrounds on the north stride
of the village, with shuttles running regularly throughout the day to
transport people to the north end and south end of the festival grounds.
Attendees will be able to park and take advantage of the shuttle service
offered by Birnie Bus and Lewis County Public Transportation.
“We’re very
grateful to our friends at the Lewis County Agricultural Society for
providing us the space for parking each year,”
said Mr. Papineau, referring to the owners of the Lewis County Fairgrounds.
Parking remains
free but donations to the Lewis County Agricultural Society will be
appreciated. The cost to ride the shuttle is $1 each way, with exact change
requested. Motorists should take note Parkway Drive and North State Street,
from the main intersection at Dayan Street and Shady Avenue to Bostwick
Street, will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, to
accommodate the festival. During that time, motorists will be directed to a
detour route.
BACKGROUND &
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Since its
inception in 2005, the Cream Cheese Festival has attracted much attention.
The popular travel website TripAdvisor listed the Cream Cheese Festival as
one of the top 10 wackiest summer festivals in 2011 and 2012. It has also
received a similar designation from The Weather Channel. The event has
brought much attention to Lewis County and brought many people to the
region, helping the local economy if even one day a year.
In 2013, Lowville
was recognized as home of the World’s Largest Cheesecake by Guinness World
Records. That year, the festival welcomed a representative from Guinness
World Records who certified the cheesecake made by the plant on Utica
Boulevard was indeed the world’s largest. The massive creation weighed in
at 6,900 pounds — more than 2,000 pounds heavier than the prior mark of
4,703 pounds set in 2009 by a Kraft Foods plant in the country of Mexico.
Over the years,
the festival has expanded from downtown North State Street to Parkway Drive
and over to American Legion Post 162, which has taken on a larger role in
working with the festival each year. In fact, in addition to the Main Stage
on North State Street during the festival, the American Legion hosts its
own entertainment that day on the Veterans Stage, also coordinated by Jasyn
Griffin.
Each year,
through the coordination of American Legion Post 162 Commander C. Lee
Hinkleman, soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division volunteer in great
numbers.
“We are extremely
grateful each year for their volunteering and look forward to having them
back again this year,” said Mr. Papineau. “Their help demonstrates their
commitment to the community they live in and we’re very happy to have them
here.”
Mr. Papineau
added volunteers are always needed for this event and those interested
should reach out via email to the Cream Cheese Festival Committee.
Platinum sponsors
this year include Kraft Heinz, RT Federal Credit Union, Naturally Lewis,
American Legion Post 162, WWNY 7News/Fox28/MeTV, Tunes 92.5/Intrepid
Broadcasting, PixelIt Digital Mobile Billboards,
and the Lewis County Agricultural Society.
For more
information about the Cream Cheese Festival or if you would like to
volunteer at the event, fill out the volunteer registration form at https://bit.ly/Cream-Cheese-Festival-Volunteer-Registration,
visit www.creamcheesefestival.com or
contact committee chairman Jeremiah S. Papineau via email at creamcheesefestival@gmail.com or
call 315-748-6361 and leave a message.
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