On Saturday, people flocked to Downtown Cary Park for the seventh annual Pimento Cheese Festival. True to its name, various vendors sold all things pimento cheese: beignets, cheesesteaks and, yes, pimento cheese ice cream.
To wash it all down, visitors could try different specialty drinks, like dill pickle iced tea in a pimento cheese rimmed cup, sold by boba tea shop, Bobasaur.
Joy Ennis, general manager for Downtown Cary Park, said that the Town of Cary created the festival in an effort to give locals a reason to go downtown to eat something they all enjoy — pimento cheese.
Pimento cheese is relatively simple, as it's a mixture of cheese, mayonnaise and peppers. Nonetheless, each year Ennis watches her staff build the festival, working together to implement and transform pimento cheese into a full-blown event.
For instance, the festival featured far more than just a large food and drink selection. There were activities ranging from a golf simulator, a Plinko-style mousetrap challenge and even a cheese-sculpting station. The Soul Psychedelique Orchestra also played on the lawn, covering classics like “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
“[Ennis’ team members] are so creative, and they serve the community in such a high level,” she said. “For me, just watching them develop this event and grow it every year into really a signature event for the Downtown Cary Park, and to see the level of creativity that they put into it, is really fun for me.”
Shortly after the festival began, the street was entirely full, and lines grew long. The turnout was really surprising, attendee Angus Isley said.
“We've had like four or five different samples of the pimento cheese, and we just got a pimento cheese scone,” he said. “We'll probably be hunting down maybe some pimento cheese ice cream.”
At this point, Isley had not yet tried the ice cream, and he was a little nervous, he said.
