Cheese and polka: Does it get any more Wisconsin than that?

MONROE — Notable moments over the years here at Cheese Days have included yodelers, musicians playing 10-foot-long alphorns and cheese sandwiches made by volunteer firefighters and local meat cutters as far back as 1914.

The Monroe Optimist Club introduced its secret recipe deep-fried cheese curds in 1972. In 2004, there was the state's largest cheese fondue.

The newest addition to the biennial celebration came on Saturday in the form of a polka mosh pit between the beer tent and the deep-fried cheese curd stand.

But it wasn't just in front of the main stage along 17th Avenue.

Thousands circled the historic Green County Courthouse Square on a sweltering September day in attempt to break the world record for the most people dancing the polka. A series of speakers set up around the square blared recorded music played by DJ Shotski, and if the estimates hold, the masses here, fueled on Spotted Cow and Limburger, likely shattered the record of 802 dancers set in 2013 in Crailsheim, Germany.

The Monroe crowd erupted when cannons fired confetti into the sky as "Cheese Days in Monroe," a song written in 1965, played. Shotski, whose real name is Stacy Harbaugh, raised both hands in celebration above her DJ table. And people tried their best to polka shoulder-to-shoulder, the crowd sweating in 86-degree heat, the sun high in a clear sky.

"I really hope it will be a polka music-related experience that they will remember for a long time," said Harbaugh, 48, who a year ago began lobbying Cheese Days officials to let her help lead the record attempt. "Where else could we do that but at Cheese Days in Monroe. So we set our sights on a goal."

Festival takes dance to the next level

The polka is no stranger to Cheese Days. Accordion players roam the grounds while polka bands play on the main stage and in the Colony Brands hospitality tent. At Baumgartner's Cheese Store, a bouncer was needed at the door Saturday, letting people in only after others had left. The Zweifel Brothers Band from Juda had the place hopping.

But the attempt at a record had crowds throughout the festival buzzing.

Kendra Zarletti came with a mob of 28 family and friends from Kenosha, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee and Arizona. They all wore matching yellow shirts and were looking forward to taking part in the record-setting event, even though their polka experience was limited.

"I mean, I live in Wisconsin so I've been around it, but I'm not an expert by any means," Zarletti said. "I tried probably at the last time I was at Cheese Days, but I don't do it often."

Amy Williams, 60, of Marshfield, is on the other end of the polka spectrum. Her uncle, Donny, was in a polka band, the Jerry Gage Orchestra, for many years. Williams said she probably began dancing to polka music before she was in kindergarten.

"I've grown up doing the polka and just thought this would be so awesome to participate in," Williams said. "It's just amazing. I just can't wait to hear how many people ended up doing the polka."

It's Wisconsin's official dance

DJ Shotski got into polka music during COVID-19 in 2020. Her weekly Sunday night polka show out of WMVO-FM in Monona is also heard on seven other radio stations around the state. She's trying to expose younger people to polka and on Saturday found a crowd of all ages with polka abilities ranging from beginner to expert.

This year is also the 30th anniversary of the polka becoming Wisconsin's official state dance. Then-Gov. Gov. Tommy Thompson signed a bill into law during a polka party in Pulaski in 1994.

In 2014, to celebrate the 100th year since the founding of Cheese Days, 100 accordion players gathered on the square. On Saturday, Shotski, named best online personality by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association this year, warmed the crowd up with digital recordings from her vinyl collection, the first being the "Pennsylvania Polka" by the legendary Frankie Yankovic. She followed that up with "Beer Barrel Polka" by Normie Dogs & the Melody Boys. Dogs, who was from West Bend and died in 2009, played polka music for over 50 years and was a regular at the New Glarus Hotel and Essen Haus in Madison.

But while it appears that thousands of people took part in the attempt to set the record, it's unclear if it will be recognized by Guinness World Records. Noreen Rueckert, tourism director for Green County, said Cheese Days couldn't afford to pay Guinness the $16,000 needed to fly people to Monroe to document the dance. Instead, Rueckert is hoping Cheese Days can submit enough evidence to convince Guinness the record is legit.

The documentation includes the sign-up sheets, buttons and stickers given away, along with video and photographic evidence both from the ground and the air via drones.

"If it flies, great, and if it doesn't, then it was just fun for all," Rueckert said. "Cheese Days is all about the Swiss heritage, the cheese making, the dairy farming ... that's who we are. We always say, 'Eat, drink, yodel.'"

Monroe festival goes back 110 years

Cheese Days was founded in 1914 after some Monroe businessmen attended Sauerkraut Day in Forreston, Illinois, and returned home "with visions of cheese curds dancing in their heads," according to the Cheese Days website. That first year, about 4,000 people attended. Entertainment included vaudeville acts, acrobatics and bands. The next year, about 20,000 showed up, and there was an ode to Limburger, the stinky cheese that today is only made at Chalet Cheese in Monroe.

By 1940, attendance had grown to more than 60,000 people. It grew to 90,000 in 1950 and by 1965 had become a two-day event that drew 125,000 people.

This year, about 80,000 people are expected for the festival that began Friday and ends Sunday in this city of just more than 10,600 people. The highlight of the last day is the parade that will draw scores of floats, bands and the Cheese Days king and queen, Tony and Esther Zgraggen. Thousands are expected to line the parade route.

But on Saturday the focus was on the record and tons of fun.

Julie and James Starbird had their first Cheese Days epiphany in 2022 but have camped at nearby by New Glarus Woods State Park and have experienced Baumgartner's. This year, the Chicago couple came with matching T-shirts with an obscure Beastie Boys lyric from the song "Triple Trouble." Their shirts read "polka, feta, my rinds are cheddar."

The Starbirds were standing in line to register for the polka, each clutching a beer. Even though they both grew up in Arkansas, they fit right in.

"We've done Polka Fest (in New Glarus) a couple of times but mostly just as watchers not participants, but I love to polka," said Julie Starbird, 48. "I'm really excited about the world's largest polka. I'm definitely going to be polkaing."

Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at .