BLESSED are the cheesemakers. Seriously. This isn't some half- baked, slice of whimsy; rather, proper, Parmesan- hard fact.

A few decades back, our real cheese industry was in a bit of a parlous state, dominated by impostors and dreary foreign clones, a shrink-wrapped world of soapy, over-processed muck. The First World War had wiped out most of our young men, and the Second World War transformed our farming. Dairy land was turned to arable, while any spare milk was sent to central depots and formed into tasteless blocks.

Artisan cheese was knocking at death's door. But thanks to the heroic, tireless efforts of businesses such as Teifi Cheese we are, once again, a world-class cheese power.

It is one of a string of producers joining in the Evening Post's sixth annual food and drink festival in Swansea this coming Saturday and Sunday.

The two-day Get Welsh event will see a string of companies taking part, each promoting the very best in home-grown produce and crafts. And anyone doubting that the region's culinary scene is anything but crackling with creativity should spend some time meandering through its stalls.

Teifi, with its interesting, charming and moreish cheeses, will be there too. Blessed with a temperate climate, lush grass and a whole menagerie of native milking beasts, it would be unthinkable not to have them there.

Teifi's John-James Savage-Onstewedder says it is a great time for proper British cheesemakers. He says there's more interest now in regionality, exploring taste and tradition.

"As long as there are independent producers who have obvious passion, then more and more young people will want to become producers and shopkeepers too. It's all about getting to the point of what good food is all about," he adds.

Teifi is about to launch its own series of cheese-making classes for the first time, passing on its skills to a whole new generation of potential producers able to learn from the best. But pride of place at its stand at the event in Castle Square will be its award-winning Teifi cheese, loosely based on a Dutch Gouda but with significantly more flavour and with a sumptuous creaminess. On show for the first time too will be a new orange liqueur from its own micro brewery.

While some food festivals might set you back upwards of £10 just to get in, thankfully the Swansea event will be free.

It remains true to the food festival's origins as an open, community-based celebration of good food. The variety on offer is astonishing. From Welsh cakes to hog roasts, cockles, pies and pasties to crepes and real beers, this is a food and drink festival for even the crankiest, most monomaniacal food enthusiast.

Organisers say they want it to be a natural expression of the region's indigenous food culture.

The format is always the same: skilled chefs from restaurants such as Eleo's, La Dolce Vita and La Parrilla, food sellers and salesmen who will all descend on Castle Square to peddle their fantastic goods.

On offer: free tastings possibly on everything from cakes to cheese to chocolates and preserves. To accompany it, some live music and street entertainers.

It's easy to see why foodies flock to Get Welsh, now in its sixth year and still hugely popular. And as the nearest thing Swansea Bay has to an annual celebration of its wonderful local producers and brilliant cuisine, it will no doubt continue to thrive.

The two-day event which also has Swansea's Business Improvement District group as one of its main backers will also see craft exhibitors joining in, among them Shirley Price who, with friend Sian Day, runs regular food and craft fayres at Gorseinon's Canolfan Centre.

She will be selling her range of textile items with these days are taking on an increasingly Welsh theme.

"What started out as a hobby has sort of taken over my life," says the mum of three.

"But it's great."

Through four years of hard work and sheer determination, she has created a recognisable theme with her work.

"It will be the first time I have taken part in the Get Welsh event but I am really looking forward to it," she adds.

"I think it's hugely important that there are these kind of platforms around allowing local producers and manufacturers to showcase what they have to offer: not at some far away place, but right here on people's doorsteps where it matters most."

The two-day event, organised and supported by the Evening Post, BID and City and County of Swansea and the City Centre Management Team, kicks off in Castle Square at 10am on Saturday and runs through until 3.30pm. On Sunday, it will be open between 11am and 3pm.