First Alternative Co-op: Welcome to The Family!

Every week we get a favorite e-mail or two. This week it was from Jeanette Small, the cheese buyer for First Alternative Co-op, notifying us that they will begin carrying our cheese next week in their two Corvallis, Oregon stores.

When we received Jeanette's e-mail we of course had to Google FAC (adding a new store is practically like adding a new family member). What we found is a store that shares our commitment to natural wholesome food and value based business practices. Yes, it feels good to sell our cheese in a new retail location. It feels even better to sell our cheese through a store that is committed to building better health, better communities and a better world. Check out FAC's Guiding Principles to see what I am talking about in more detail. Thanks Jeanette!

The Local Dirt

Check out the recent edition of The Local Dirt, a weekly e-newsletter of the The Hollywood Farmers' Market in Portland, Oregon. Heading into its thirteenth market season, the Hollywood market opens on Saturday, May 2, 2009. Looks like they have a few new vendors in 2009, and wouldn't you know it, Willapa Hills is one of them! Thanks to Lianne Bannow for the nice writeup on our cheese. After attending a new vendor meeting last week, Molly, Dustin and Stephen are excited to have Willapa Hills be a part of such a great community market!

The Hollywood Market will be open every Saturday from May until Thanksgiving. Regular season hours are 8am to 1pm, with the November markets beginning one hour later.

Sampling Some Blues at the International Food Bloggers Conference

Willapa Hills is making an appearance at the International Food Bloggers’ Conference in Seattle. We will be sampling a few of our favorite cheeses Saturday afternoon. The conference is taking place May 15 - 17 at the Sanctuary in West Seattle. More details about the conference can be found on the IFBC website. With tickets for the conference being sold out in only 10 days, plans are in the works for a live video web cast of the event. It promises to be a great event and a particularly tasty afternoon!

The Seasonality of Cheese: Now Is The Time!

Take a moment and check out this weeks article in the Oregonian titled Cheeses of the Season by Peg Chiarpotti. Peg's article explores the seasonal nature of milk production and cheese making, especially for sheep and goat cheeses. Thanks Peg for making Willapa Hills a part of your engaging article on the seasonality of cheese!

The Taste Of Cheese Is In The Air!

Can you taste it? All natural hand-crafted Cheese! Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese is going to be at a number of awesome cheese events this spring and early summer. One is open to chefs, another to the Lewis County community and one is open to everyone! Don't miss out!

Seattle Chefs Collaborative will hold its 3rd Annual Cheese Meet & Greet and its 7th Annual Quillasascut Farm School Scholarship Kickoff on May 11th, 2009 in Seattle at TASTE, in the Seattle Art Museum, right downtown. And you guessed it, Willapa Hills will be there!

The Seattle Cheese Festival returns to Pike Place Market for its fifth year and Willapa Hills will be there on May 16th and 17th, 2009. Festival promotion explains, "As artisanal cheese production grows, so does the festival! Come taste more than 200 cheeses from local and international producers along the cobblestone street of Pike Place Market. The Seattle Cheese Festival is the first of its kind on the West Coast with artisanal cheese at center stage. Wine Tasting, Fresh Mozzarella Making, Educational Seminars, Celebrity Chef Demonstrations and funs activities for the kids are all part of the 2009 Seattle Cheese Festival!"

The First Annual Rotary Summer Wine & Cheese Festival sponsored by the Rotary Club of Centralia is scheduled for June 28th. Willapa Hills will be joining four other Lewis County cheese makers at this benefit event. We are thrilled to be supporting our local Lewis County community!

Cheese is now in season: Come taste it!

From Hollywood to Edmonds, Our 2009 Farmers Markets Are Taking Shape!

Things are falling into place for the 2009 farmers market season. In Oregon we have been accepted by the Hollywood and Beaverton Farmers Markets. Our application for the Cannon Beach Farmers Market is pending (but looks good!). In Washington we have been accepted in the Gig Harbor, Edmonds, and Camas Markets. Our applications are pending for the Puyallup and Tacoma Markets. Stay tuned - we will continue to update our blog as plans firm up.

Are we missing your favorite Farmers Market? Let us know...