Vegans, step aside. This week it is all about cheese. Cheese from all over the world, from Oregon, Utah and Seattle to Holland, Italy and more, will be offered to Pike Place visitors for this once-a-year cheese celebration. The Seattle Cheese Festival runs from May 18-May 20 on the cobblestone streets of Seattle’s favorite public market.

Seventy thousand cheese connoisseurs are expected to participate in the third-annual festival. The main Pike Place street will be dedicated to the Cheese Concourse, where vendors and cheese chefs offer up tasty cheesy treats and accompanying breads and crackers. The suggested donation for entry is just $1, and all proceeds go to the Seattle Cheese Festival Scholarship Fund.

“First held in 2005, the Seattle Cheese Festival is a non-profit organization that educates about artisanal and farmstead cheeses, and supports specialty cheese producers,” said Michi Suzuki, the Seattle Cheese Festival public relations coordinator.

Along with the Cheese Concourse, the Seattle Cheese Festival also offers cheesemaking demonstrations, cheese showcases, educational seminars (to educate the public about the art of handcrafted cheeses) and professional cooking demonstrations. The demonstrations are taught by a variety of local chefs. Cooking classes will kick off the festival throughout the day on Friday.

Cheese seminars vary from topics such as microorganisms to the showing of The Cheese Nun and a chance to meet Sister Noella in person. The seminars range from $10-50. Seminars and cooking classes will be held at restaurants and other locations around the area, including the Seattle Art Museum.

Try to hit up the festival on Saturday or Sunday when the Cheese Concourse is open. Wine tasting will be held throughout the weekend (noon to 5 p.m.) in the wine garden, and a cheese scavenger hunt will keep kids busy Saturday afternoon. Restaurants around the area will be offering their very own take of “Cheese Fest Best,” their best cheesy dish for festival-goers to enjoy.

For a true introduction to the cheese culture, catch the “Rolling of the Truckles.” “What’s a truckle?” you may ask yourself — it is an 18-pound barrel-shaped cheese taller than it is wide. Of course, you can’t just roll a truckle any old way.

It requires a “special cheese spatula and, perhaps, a sense of humor,” Suzuki said.

So scrounge for that pocket change and grab some buddies to indulge in the cheesiest event of the season.

“If ever there were a melting pot, the 2007 Seattle Cheese Festival would be it,” Suzuki said.