Ohio Swiss Festival celebrates rich culture
Since 1953 the village of Sugarcreek has hosted the Ohio Swiss Festival on the fourth weekend after Labor Day each autumn. Generations of local residents and out-of-town visitors have enjoyed the event, which celebrates the rich Swiss heritage and the closeness of community.
Sponsored by the Ohio Swiss Cheese Association, Sugarcreek Business Association and the Village of Sugarcreek, this year’s festival will take place Sept. 27-30.
Concessions and rides will open on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m., and the new Swiss Miss will be crowned in the pavilion behind the fire station at 6 p.m.
Thursday will welcome the crowning of the 2017 Champion Cheesemaker in the pavilion at 7 p.m. with the Swiss Cheese Auction at 7:15 p.m. and the Ohio Swiss Festival Queen Crowning an hour later.
Garaway Local Schools students and staff will get the day off on Friday, Sept. 29, just in time for the festival to kick into high gear. The craft tents will open at 9 a.m. with a schedule full of entertainment and events all day and into the evening hours, which will keep members of the whole family happy.
Introduced to the festival a few years ago, the wine and cheese area in the fire station has become a favorite spot for festivalgoers.
“It’s proven to be well received by guests,” said Scott Gerber, president of the Ohio Swiss Festival. “Nowadays nothing goes together better than wine and cheese. With the popularity of local wineries, this part of the festival has seen considerable growth. We’d like to continue to see it grow while keeping it an intimate part of the festival.”
Wine and cheese samples can be had from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday with live entertainment provided by The Scenic Route and The Killer Wails on Friday and Jacob Frish and Sounds of Sam on Saturday.
Gerber said his desire to give back to the community led him to become a volunteer at the annual festival. “I’m a local guy. Even when I was in college, I’d come back home for the festival,” Gerber said.
Employed at Belden Brick, Gerber said the festival is a labor of love. “I came on board about five years ago and have served as president for the last three. We like to think we’re planting seeds. My daughter Paige helps out, and she recruits her friends to do things. We’d like to find ways to get more people involved.”
Gerber said the festival committee meets between seven and 10 times a year. “We’ve got a great group of volunteers,” he said. “This week we’ll be dotting i’s and crossing t’s. All the hard work has been done, and now we just hope we get good weather.”
The Kiddie Parade will step off at 2:05 p.m. on Friday. “This year the parade is sponsored by Killbuck Savings Bank,” Gerber said. “With this parade you never know what to expect. You might see a dog, a hamster or a horse. We encourage the kids to get creative, and do they ever. We are so grateful for Killbuck Savings’ sponsorship.”
For those craving traditional Swiss music and dance, the Joey Tomsick Orchestra will perform throughout the weekend. The Cleveland-based band has been performing for more than 30 years.
Another Cleveland band, Polka Pirates also will perform traditional polkas and crowd-pleasing favorites.
“Even as we add new, contemporary music and entertainment, we still keep the traditional stuff,” Gerber said. “It’s not just the older folks who like it either. The younger ones enjoy it too.”
There is so much happening at the festival including the Cheese Chase 5K, the Grand Parade, a yodeling contest, an antique car show, the Steintossen, a Swiss costume contest, a Big Wheel race, a kiddie tractor pull and more.
Find the complete schedule online at www.ohioswissfestival.com.