Calling all mac and cheese lovers! Here’s your chance to enjoy some of the best in the region from area chefs and restaurants. The VT Mac and Cheese Challenge will be held this Sunday, September 9, from 10:30 am to 3 pm at the Vermont Farmstead Cheese Market at Artisans Way in Windsor. Once you’ve tasted them all, you get to vote for your favorite, which will be given the People’s Choice Award.

Even better, you’ll be enjoying your favorite comfort food while helping out the Vermont Foodbank, which is the recipient of all the proceeds. Be sure to buy your tickets ASAP! This much-loved event is capped at just 3,000 tickets.

The Vermont Mac and Cheese Challenge is sponsored by the Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company (VFCC), which began as a community effort to preserve a picturesque 18-acre dairy farm in South Woodstock in 2009. Residents raised money to purchase the land, buildings, and equipment with the aim that it would remain a dairy farm. With the generous contributions and tireless efforts of an entire community, the dream was realized, and Vermont Farmstead became the first community-owned artisan cheese and dairy facility in the state.

In June 2011, the company produced its first cheese. In October 2012, the VFCC introduced a new cheese-production facility approximately 20 miles from the farm at Artisans Park in Windsor, which is home to eight attractions including Harpoon Brewery, Silo Distillery, a sculpture garden, a river outfitter, and Simon Pearce Glassblowing.

Harpoon draft beer will be available for purchase at the cash bar. There will also be live music, a calf petting zoo, and hay-wagon rides.

The event takes place rain or shine. Tickets are $17, and kids under 6 years old get in free. The gates will open at 10:30 am, with the competition beginning at 11 am. Parking is free, and there will be a hay-wagon shuttle from the parking lot to the event. No dogs or strollers will be allowed inside the food tents.

For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit the Eventbrite site at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vt-mac-and-cheese-challenge-tickets-45597474273?aff=es2.