This year the Sonoma County Harvest Fair is Oct. 5^th,  6^th and 7^th, and beer lovers and foodies of all stripes are in luck with some new features  in store.

There’s going to be a “Cheesy Beer School” pairing five microbrews with local cheeses. The Harvest Fair has tapped the expertise of Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma to lead the beer quest.

The class will run for 20 minutes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5^th and on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6^th and 7^th, the class will be offered at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

For beer-lovers who want an even broader tasting experience, Lagunitas will be sponsoring  a beer tasting from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6th.

Yet other new features that will appeal to the Wine Country foodie and cut-throat competitor are the cooking competitions.

On Friday, Oct. 5^th students from Sonoma County high schools that have a culinary program will be competing in an “Iron Chef” of sorts contest. Contenders will all be given the same ingredients and will come up with their own gastronomic masterpieces.

And on Saturday, Oct. 6^th professionals and amateurs will be competing to see who can create the best grilled cheese sandwich.  Only Sonoma County products can be used in this cook-off.

Finally, on Sunday, Oct. 7^th professionals and amateurs will face off in their quest to come up with the best quesadilla in the county, again, relying only on local ingredients.

If your palate craves more information about these tasty new features, check out  www.harvestfair.org .