Cheese Days 100th Anniversary Preview: Monroe, Wisc.

Connie Attractions & Events, Food & Drink, Wisconsin July 1, 2014November 22, 2015Cheese Days 2014, Cheese Days Wisconsin, Monroe Cheese Days, Monroe WI, Monroe Wisconsin 0 Comment

Mark your calendar. Make your hotel reservation now in or near Monroe, Wisconsin. If the preview I attended in June for the Green County Cheese Days 100^th anniversary is any indication, you’ll be in for a real treat the weekend of September 19-21, 2014. Green County promises tremendous fun in the true Green County Swiss way: sausage, beer, polka, yodeling, and of course, cheese, lots of cheese.

The history
Inspired by Sauerkraut Day in Forreston, Illinois, Cheese Days was started in 1914 to attract visitors. Attract it did. 4,000 people attended that first festival where 13,000 cheese sandwiches were served and folks were entertained by vaudeville acts. The festival was held sporadically at first, skipping five and ten years at times, until in 1970 it was decided to hold the festival every two years. Today more than 100,000 people attend the biennial event.

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The food
At the preview I sampled the Monroe Optimist Club’s deep-fried cheese curds, touted as the best cheese curds you’ll ever taste. I have to agree. And the only places you can get them are at the Cheese Days Festival and the Green County Fair, so it’s no surprise to hear there’s always a line for them.

I also tasted a creamy, gooey gourmet grilled cheese sandwich (with secret sauce), cheese and chocolate pairings, locally made Greek yogurt, bacon bratwurst and Bratzeli cookies made with a batter in an iron the same as many similar European cookies, but wafer thin and crispy. I sipped local beer and locally made root beer. These goodies are just the start of what will be offered around the square and in the Hospitality Tent at the September fair.

Demonstrations and roylty
A few Swiss craft examples were on hand, including paper snipped into intricate patterns in a method called Scherenschnitte and a demonstration of chip carving.

We were introduced to both Cheese Days royalty and the Green County Dairy Queen and Princess.

The entertainment
John Waelti and Bobbie Edler entertained with accordion music at the preview and accompanied teen yodeler Cammi Ganshert. Tony Zgraggen also entertained with a solo yodel and then later joined the rest of the New Glarus Yodel Club for another performance. Watch the video below for snippets of the preview entertainment.

Much more at Cheese Days
At the September 19-21 festival, you’ll also see old time copper kettle cheese making demonstrations, cheese carving, a cow milking contest and a big parade sponsored by The Swiss Colony. Get your photo taken sporting a milk mustache at the Family Farm Adventure tent, tour a dairy farm, or take polka lessons.

For the full schedule and list of vendors for the September 19-21 event, see the Green County Cheese Days web site.

Disclosure: My visit to the Cheese Days Media Preview was hosted by the Green County Tourism, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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The Music Man Square, Mason City, Iowa: A Tribute to Meredith Willson

Connie Attractions & Events, Iowa June 27, 2014August 8, 2016Iowa, Iowa tourism, Mason City, Mason City IA, Meredith Wilson, Music Man museum, The Music Man Square 5 Comments

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand …

–Meredith Willson

Twirling a baton and marching to “Seventy-Six Trombones” in a parade when I was eight years old, I was unaware the song was from the movie The Music Man, an Academy Award winner in 1962 and prior to that, a Broadway hit. The catchy tune has stuck in my head for fifty years, but it was only this year, when visiting Mason City, Iowa, that I learned the classic musical’s fictitious River City was modeled after composer and songwriter Meredith Willson’s hometown of Mason City, Iowa, and inspired by the city’s annual North Iowa Band Festival. Mason City pays tribute to likely the city’s most famous resident with The Music Man Square, which includes a museum with a reproduction of The Music Man movie set and his boyhood home.

Camp in comfort at Lake Rudolph, Santa Claus IN

Connie Attractions & Events, Indiana June 22, 2014April 2, 2018cabins in santa claus indiana, campgrounds in santa claus indiana, Lake Rudolph campground, Lake Rudolph Camping, Rudolph Lake Indiana, Santa Claus Indiana, santa claus indiana cabins, Santa Claus Indiana campgrouns 0 Comment

It’s always holiday time at the Christmas-themed Lake Rudolph, where you don’t have to own an RV or even a tent to camp, although you’re welcome to bring your own if you prefer. With plenty to do, including planned activities, paddle boats, game room and a water park, Lake Rudolph is a destination resort that will keep you entertained for a weekend or a full week. Read more

Tour Mission Point Lighthouse, Traverse City, Michigan

Connie Attractions & Events, Michigan June 19, 2014June 11, 2015Mission Point Lighthouse, old mission lighthouse, Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, Traverse City lighthouse, Traverse City MI, traverse city michigan 0 Comment

In the 1860s a ship sank after hitting a shallow reef near the tip of Mission Bay Peninsula. The event prompted Congress to finance construction of a lighthouse, which was lit in September 1870. The Mission Point Lighthouse served as a beacon for passing ships until 1933, when an automated buoy light was installed offshore. Today you can tour the building, climb up to the tower and explore the area around it. Read more

Historic Park Inn: Last Remaining Frank Lloyd Wright Hotel

Connie Iowa June 15, 2014April 2, 2018Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright hotel, Historic Park Inn, Mason City IA, Mason City Iowa, Mason City Iowa hotel 0 Comment

Clean horizontal lines, extensive use of art glass, entry doors recessed into the building front. I knew I had reached my destination without even seeing the name of the Historic Park Inn on the hotel. It was obviously Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School architecture, the last remaining hotel designed by the renowned architect. The Historic Park Inn was my home for my three night stay in Mason City, Iowa. Read more

Fast Eddie’s, Alton IL: Good Food at Bargain Prices

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois June 11, 2014June 16, 2014Alton Illinois, Fast Eddie's Alton, Fast Eddie's Alton IL, Great River Road 0 Comment

I saw Fast Eddie’s Bon Air featured on TV when Food Network star Alton Brown stopped there on a motorcycle tour. Brown described it as a road house, a drinking establishment that offers cheap food, although roadhouses aren’t usually in town, and the food isn’t usually good. There’s the difference with Fast Eddie’s. It’s in downtown Alton, and the food is good.

The bar had been around as the Bon Air since 1921 when it was opened by Anheuser Busch and then sold ten years later when a law was passed prohibiting breweries from owning drinking establishments. It didn’t become Fast Eddie’s until 1981, and that’s when food was added. The menu isn’t big, only seven items: homemade brats, peel-and-eat shrimp, burgers, fries and three kinds of kebobs—Pork Kebob, Hot Chick on a Stick, and tenderloin and peppers called the Big Elwood on a Stick. However, people from all over the country have made a point of stopping there as they’ve passed through. A local told us of folks he knows who often drive 250 miles from Kansas City just to eat there.

Prices haven’t changed much since 1981. We found that the price for a burger had increased—not surprising with soaring beef prices—but still a big bargain with a half-pound burger only $1.99. Brats are only 99 cents, and shrimp 29 cents each. A generous basket of fries is $1.99.

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You won’t find fancy here. After all, it’s a bar, a bar that has quadrupled in size since it became Fast Eddie’s. We sat in the newer area, with a feel of the outdoors under a tent-type roof, heated and comfortable during our March visit.

The original section is dimly lit, with lots of hanging signs, neon and televisions.

Walk up to the counter to order and pay for your food, then sit back and relax with a drink (drinks are ordered and served at your table), while you wait for your meal. Watch the digital counter; when the number reaches your number or higher, your food is ready for you to pick up, add your condiments and take back to your table to enjoy.

Fast Eddie’s, located at 1530 E. 4^th Street, is popular with bikers traveling the Great River Road, but it’s popular with seniors, too, sometimes with busloads stopping for a meal. If you visit on a weekday, plan on a later lunch, as they don’t open until 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday (11 a.m. Friday through Sunday). You’re in luck if you’re a late-night person, since they’re open until 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on the weekends. Hear live music Wednesdays through Sundays.

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