Big Cheese Days and Cheese Trail reach10-year milestone

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Tourism Oxford is celebrating an entire decade of the Cheese Trail and its subsequent Big Cheese Days, highlighting the rich dairy and cheese industry in Oxford County.

Big Cheese Days will return this May for its tenth anniversary of the trail, where more than 30 participating businesses including farms, cheese shops, and restaurants, will have specials every Saturday of the month. Woodstock’s Cheesy Cow Co. is new to the trail this year, along with GoodPud and Makkink’s Flower Farm and Café in Tillsonburg.

"It's really exciting just to see how the Cheese Trail has grown and flourished over the years,” said Meredith Maywood, Oxford County’s tourism manager. “It just makes you happy and warm inside."

The Cheese Trail was created by Maywood’s predecessor, Cathy Bingham. When Maywood joined the Tourism Oxford team, she worked with the Culinary Tourism Alliance to help shape what the Cheese Trail looks like now.

"We kind of kick off the tourism season every year in May to get people to come out and explore what's new on it,” Maywood said. “It's also a nice testing ground for businesses because they can try out new ideas and some of those ideas have become permanent offerings from businesses such as cheese tours.”

Maywood added that the Cheese Trail and its Big Cheese Days give visitors to Oxford County a chance to taste food and beverages unique to the local businesses they visit.

“Tourists love to enjoy the taste of a local place that they're going to, and we have so much of that available in Oxford County from our cheesemakers, our chocolatiers, craft brew, and other food producers,” she said.

She also encouraged Oxford County residents to check out the Cheese Trail any time of the year.

"Some people who live in Oxford County might not even be aware of the great tourism attraction that they have in their backyard and I encourage them to get out and explore the Cheese Trail,” she said. “It's a year-round attraction, so whether you can come out Saturdays in May, it's something that you can come and do on a year-round basis when you’re wanting to get out with your friends or if you’ve got family visiting as well. It’s a great outing for everyone, from families with children to people who are looking for an adult group outing, just explore all the cheese and flavours in the area."

To find out more about what Big Cheese Days will offer for 2025, visit online via https://tinyurl.com/bigcheesedays2025.