The Beer Cheese Festival is less than a month away and organizers are making a fundamental change this year.

For the previous 10 years, festival-goers could purchase a wristband which granted access to the fenced-off area where the professional beer cheese makers gave away samples of their product.

This year, organizers are doing away with the wristbands and special area. Instead, they will sell packs of 10 “Beer Cheese Bucks” which allows buyers to sample the beer cheese as before.

“We did this for three reasons,” Main Street Winchester Director Rachel Alexander said. “We’re becoming a victim of our own success. It wasn’t fair to ask our vendors to give away that much product”

Some were giving away 80 pounds or more each year, she said. The vendors will then be paid for each Beer Cheese Buck they collect, she said.

“The biggest complaint we’ve gotten since the first year is people didn’t like the fenced off area,” she said. “We’re also hoping it will help with the lines. We’ll have a more free-flowing festival.”

So far, 11 professional beer cheese makers have signed up for the June 8 festival in downtown Winchester, she said. Anyone who buys a pack of Beer Cheese Bucks also gets to vote for the people’s choice award, she said.

Much of the rest of the festival remains the same, from the amateur beer cheese contest at Winchester City Hall, a children’s area behind the Clark County Courthouse and food vendors around the courthouse.

Amateur cheese makers can submit their applications now or on the day of the event. The application is available at www.beercheesefestival.com.

There will also be live music throughout the day on West Broadway Street by Burden of Proof, Lark Watts and the Stomp Brothers, Rifletown, Chris Carpenter and Michael Caden. Watts, Carpenter and Rifletown are all from Winchester.

Related events actually start Friday with the Rock the Block concert featuring One Way Street in front of the Clark County Courthouse. The Big Cheesy 5K will also be Friday evening.