Another Beer Cheese Festival is in the books and, although the final numbers aren’t in, it is hard to see it as anything but an overwhelming success.

Thousands of people — well more than 10 and likely close to 20 — poured into Winchester’s downtown for the event that is now in its ninth year.

The atmosphere was enthusiastic, energetic and invigorating as people took advantage of everything offered but most certainly had tasting the Clark County culinary delight which the event centers around at the top of their to-do lists.

Mother Nature cooperated with a day that was warm and breezy but made a perfect setting for people to stroll through the booths, vendors and downtown stores. Early reports from law enforcement were that everything was going well and people were just there to have a good time.

The success of the event is further affirmation of the mission — to showcase the entire community, inject economic vitality into downtown and raise money for the Main Street organization to reinvest into those first two.

We applaud all the businesses, organizations and sponsors who showed their community spirit and pride by coming out en masse with a great attitude.

Most of all, we want to say thank you to Main Street board members and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly for months to put this event together. Without their commitment and dedication, this success would not be possible.

It was great to see such a mix of out-of-town visitors and Clark County residents enjoying what the community has to offer. Many from both demographics said they had no idea some of the businesses were even there.

These positive results also reaffirm the need to continue recent efforts to create new events that attract people to Winchester for a day or evening. Finding a way to engage and incorporate more businesses on the bypass or outside the primary business district will be an important step forward.

We cannot wait until next year to celebrate the milestone 10th anniversary.