The Cheese and Culture Festival Returns September 26th in Cabot, Vermont
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There are a lot of ways to spend a September Saturday in Vermont. You could chase foliage down a back road, hike a mountain peak, or park yourself on a village common with a plate of cheese and a Zydeco band playing in the background.
That last option is pretty tempting, and comes with 40+ vendors and more cheese than you could possibly eat (at least in one sitting).
Cabot Arts is bringing back its Cheese and Culture Festival for a fourth year, happening Saturday, September 26, 2026, from noon to 5 pm on the Cabot Village Common. It’s free, it’s outdoors, and it celebrates one of Vermont’s most iconic dairy products.
The Details
What: The 4th Annual Cheese and Culture Festival
When: Saturday, September 26, 2026, 12 pm to 5 pm
Where: Cabot Village Common, 3148 Main Street, Cabot, VT
Cost: Free to the public
More info: cabotarts.org
Cabot is a tiny village in Northern Washington County, right on the edge of the Northeast Kingdom, and yes, it’s the Cabot you’re thinking of, the one on the cheddar wrapper in your fridge. If you’ve explored this gorgeous corner of Vermont, the festival is a fine excuse.
Come for the Cheese
The heart of the festival is the cheese and the ferments.
Forty vendors and food trucks will gather on the common, so you can taste your way through Vermont cheesemakers and the folks turning cabbage, cucumbers, milk, and grains into the good stuff. Bring an appetite and maybe a cooler for the ride home.
Three Cheese and Beverage Pairing Events are also happening throughout the afternoon, because cheese is better enjoyed with beer, wine, or spirits.
Stay for the Culture
Hands-on workshops feature ways to bring some skills home with you. Plan your day around some of these:
- Cheesemaking at Home with Jeanne Segretto Miller, for anyone who has ever wondered if they could just make the cheese themselves.
- All About Pickling with Julia Irish from Pitchfork Pickle, the Burlington pickle folks who know their brine.
- Kraut Mob! with Jeff Reinhardt, a make-your-own-sauerkraut session.
- A talk from Cat Buxton on soil, compost, and, in her words, the microbes that rule us all.
And a Reason to Dance
Once you’ve eaten your weight in cheese, there’s Mango Jam, a six-piece dance band out of Burlington playing Louisiana Zydeco, Cajun, New Orleans funk, reggae, and ska. I dare you to stand still while listening to these lively tunes!
Two Festivals for the Price of One (Which Is Free)
The Cheese and Culture Festival runs alongside Cabot’s annual Fall Foliage Festival, so the whole village will hum with the celebratory small-town energy Vermont turns on every autumn.
Late September is right when the colors start to pop in northern Vermont, so you can pair your cheese with a leaf-peeping drive on the way in or out.
The festival is part of a larger push to bring more arts and commerce to Cabot, Northern Washington County, and the Northeast Kingdom.
Beyond the tasting and the music, it’s a chance to meet the producers, see how the products are made, and learn a bit about the farming and sustainable agriculture behind them.
The festival is put on by Cabot Arts, a Vermont nonprofit, with support from The Wiswell Foundation, Seven Days, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Cabot Creamery, Seth’s Computers, Cabot Village Store, Harry’s Hardware, The Bridge, and the Cabot Community Association.
Also Read: Vermont Fall Foliage: A Local’s Guide to the Best Places to Visit This Autumn
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