The California Artisan Cheese Festival is a piquant wonderland of dreamy tastes

THE FIRST DAYS OF SPRING? When late March blooms, we find that we're suddenly in the mood to call upon a local ranch in order to learn about beekeeping, or a busy farm where little lambs frolic, or a cultivated flower field, the kind of space that is a remarkable riot of soft hues. The Golden State offers us a bouquet of early-spring diversions, happily, and several of those diversions are built around the farmers, growers, and the cheesemakers who deliver so much delicious dairy goodness. Luckily for those who are drawn to luscious wheels and slices and creamy spreads, the California Artisan Cheese Festival has long set out the charcuterie, fruits, and incredible cheeses just a day or two into the spring season. And here's something as sweet as a little lamb: The 2025 affair, the festival's 19th outing, will take place from March 21-23.

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE — they always become available in early January, if you'd like to pause and mark all of your future calendars — and booking your spot for some of the sure-to-fill-up events is highly recommended. Fans adore the Farm & Producer Tours, those in-depth experiences that give cheese mavens "... a behind-the-scenes peek into how dairies and creameries work, how cheese is made and aged, and even tips how to serve it!" A Cheese Crawl in Sebastopol is on the schedule, as well as Seminar and Pairing Discussions, and the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace unfurls, flavorfully, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and Event Center in Santa Rosa.

CHEESE AND CHEER: The schedule, tickets, and all of the snacky details may be found on this site, but if you're a devoted cheeser, don't dally: Events will fill up faster than a fondue pot bubbles over with melted gooey goodness.