Holy cow! That’s a lot of cheese. Photo courtesy of ACS.

Expect nearly 1,000 cheese professionals roaming Sacramento this week. It’s the annual American Cheese Society conference, and it’s a big deal.

Sadly, the general Sacramento public can’t exactly take advantage of all the cheese tastings, seminars and meetings with cheese world celebrities. But don’t despair, cheese-lovers. There are a few things for you.

The biggest celebration all week is the Festival of Cheese on Friday, Aug. 1. There will be tables and tables and tables covered in cheese of all kinds, ready to be tossed in your mouths until you explode. Pace yourself. There are literally more than 1,700 cheeses, including the winners of the week’s big cheese competition. Plus other food, because you probably can’t eat just cheese for hours, and wine. Attendees can also purchase “cheese grab bags” on their way out with a variety of surprise cheeses. The festival runs from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center (1400 J Street) and costs $60 at the door.

For more cheese to take home, head back to the Convention Center Saturday, Aug. 2 for the public cheese sale. There will be, again, hundreds of rare and interesting cheeses at highly discounted prices. That’s free to enter and runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

And though it’s not official, expect hot cheese spots like The Rind, The Cultured & The Cured and Block Butcher Bar to have some rare, specialty cheeses available during the week. They do want to impress their cheese comrades, after all.