UNITY – Hi, ho the dairy…

Oh!

If you’re wild about cheese, butter and yogurt, the Maine Food Festival is the place for you. Sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Maine Cheese Guild, this year’s festival will focus on cultured artisan dairy products. The event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity.

“MOFGA has a history and tradition of working with farmers to help grow excellent and sustainable produce and all kinds of farm products,” said Eric Rector, festival organizer and MOFGA board member. “The Maine Food Festival takes the idea of sustainable farming and agriculture to the next level, to see what happens to food once it comes out of the ground.”

Or, in this case, once it comes out of the cow, sheep or goat.

The festival will feature demonstrations on making cheese, butter and yogurt at home; vendors; information about cow milking and husbandry; advice on pairing Maine cheeses with wine; and a chance to sample some of the state’s commercial and farmstead cheeses, which “rival the best of any cheeses produced in Europe,” according to a June 2003 article in Down East magazine.

“I find that very exciting that [Maine dairies are producing] the sort of quality of cheeses that we can’t get from Europe, because they’re very fresh, young cheeses,” said Kris Horton of Horton’s at the Portland Public Market. “We’re really beginning to get a true European feel by having these fresh farm cheeses here.”

Horton’s father started the shop as a retail outlet for his smoked seafood, and he added cheese as an accompaniment. Several years ago, a Canadian company bought out the seafood portion of the business, and, according to Kris Horton, “We got really carried away with cheese.” Now, Horton’s carries between 150 and 200 varieties, an increasing number of which come from Maine.

“Within the last five years there has been a growing output of Maine cheeses,” Horton said. “And we’re supporting any Maine cheeses that come our way. … The demand is there for more, at least from my perspective.”

Local cheese makers share that perspective. Caitlin Hunter of Appleton Creamery, which specializes in goat’s milk cheeses, said she can’t make enough to keep up with demand. She sells at five farmers markets, and her selection of fresh cheeses changes weekly.

“That’s the fun of it,” she said.

Hunter also serves as the president of the cheese guild, which now has about 50 members. There are between 12 and 15 licensed cheese makers in the state, 10 of whom will share their wares and wisdom at the festival.

“We’re hoping people will come out and be amazed at what’s going on in the state,” Hunter said.

Though there are only a handful of licensed dairies in the guild, the variety is impressive: cheddar curd and Camembert from Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook; cow’s milk cheddars and Monterey Jack from State of Maine Cheese in Rockport; aged and fresh cow’s milk cheeses from Hahn’s End in Phippsburg; “Mainechego,” a raw sheep’s milk cheese made by 1797 Farm in Auburn; goat’s milk cheese from Sunset Acres in Brooksville; goat and sheep cheese from Tramps Rest in Monroe; and raw milk cheese from Hart-to-Hart Farm in Albion.

Hunter hopes the festival will inspire at-home cheese makers to turn their hobby into a full-fledged operation, to meet the demand.

“Cheese making in Maine is coming into its own as a result of people becoming more interested in what’s available for local food in general, but also in handcrafted foods,” Hunter said.

Kris Horton said the selection of high-quality fresh and aged cheeses has increased dramatically in recent years, and the interest in local cheeses is a trend she hopes to see continue.

“I’m excited to see the future of Maine cheeses because we got such a strong start,” Horton said.

The Common Ground Education Center is on the Crosby Brook Road, off Route 220 in Unity. Admission to the Maine Food Festival costs $5 for adults, $3 for members of MOFGA, and is free for children under 12. For information, a full schedule of events or directions, visit www.mainecheeseguild.org, www.mofga.org or call 568-4142. Kristen Andresen is a Style Desk writer. She can be reached at kandresen@bangordailynews.net.