An estimated 80,000 visitors attended this year’s Big Cheese festival in Caerphilly town, according to organisers.
The weekend event began on Friday evening with the Great Cheese Race, where competing teams had to carry a Caerphilly Cheese on a stretcher as part of a relay.
The race was won by Whitchurch Valley Hockey Club, with Bolton Diamonds victorious in the junior race.
The music tent hosted the likes of Kizzy Crawford, Gin Rummy, Danielle Lewis and Feelgood Experiment, while the castle’s Great Hall was home to the sounds of Caerphilly Ladies Choir, The Melody Makers, Aber Valley Male Voice Choir and many more.
A designated re-enactment area was also available throughout the weekend to entertain history lovers including re-enactments from the 10th Century, as well as the Roman and Medieval era.
Pembrokeshire Falconry also entertained crowds of families on Saturday and Sunday.
Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development said: “I am delighted that so many visitors once again enjoyed the Big Cheese Festival, which has been the highlight of summer in Caerphilly for 19 years. The calibre of entertainment on offer, as well as the huge range of food and craft stalls made the festival a brilliant day out for the whole family.”
Gwent Police said there was little trouble at the event, with one man volunteering to attend a police station in connection with possession of cannabis and the theft of three rings from a jewellery stand.
Frustration at time vouchers
Volunteers from a community group in Caerphilly were left disappointed after they were unable to swap vouchers for fairground vouchers.
Lansbury Matters community group volunteers were turned away after trying to convert time credits into VIP passes worth £9, as the allocation ran out.
Michelle Mckenzie-Jones, chair of Lansbury Matters said: “People have been working hard volunteering around Lansbury Park and saving up their time credits for the Big Cheese, so it was really disappointing.
“It’s a real downer for the community. One child was in tears, saying how he’d picked up litter for nothing. I worry that people won’t trust the scheme now.”
The time credit scheme works on the mantra of ‘give an hour, get an hour’, and volunteers can spend their earned credits at a variety of locations across South Wales.
A council spokesperson said: “Due to the overwhelming popularity of the time credit voucher offer, our ticket allocation was exceeded sooner than anticipated. We were pleased to have been able to redeem almost 400 vouchers at the event, and would apologise to anyone who missed out.”
