This event is put on entirely with volunteer effort and a whole lot of sweat equity.  While we’ve spent a lot of time trying to make the event as best as it can be, there is always room for improvement and we’d love to hear your thoughts as to how and where we go from here.

Here are the results for the top placing sandwiches at the 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational.

Great job, America!

Red Line/Light Rail
The 7th & Metro Station is the most convenient subway station to the GCI. Look at the map to see how to get to the event.

(NOTE: There is no pedestrian access across the 110 on either 6th or 5th, so please use Wilshire Blvd.

Maplink

View Larger Map

Bus

Use the address of the Studio to find the bus route most convenient to you.

The event is located at:

DRIVING

Be sure to carpool to the event! It is Earth Day, after all and it’ll save on gas and frustration, with less cars trying to get to that area.

Parking Lots

There are several pay lots convenient to the GCI and some limited street parking in the area.

Street Parking

You can pretty much bet on all street parking immediately around Los Angeles Center Studios will be grabbed by the time you get down there, so really you should look for parking a few blocks away.

Just because we’ve closed the registration for competing and judging, doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do!

Samples!

The gorgeous people at Tillamook cheese have stepped up as the exclusive cheese sponsor and will be offering samples of their award winning cheeses and mountains of grilled cheese samples throughout the day!  We’ve also gotten the support of Boulder Canyon Potato Chips, Pacific Natural Foods, Steas! and Izze Sparkling beverages.  Enjoy their compliementary samples throughout the day and be sure to thank them for supporting the event!

People’s Choice Judging

You can vote on the best grilled Cheese being offered by our vendors.  All vendors selling grilled cheese are selling samples in the $2 – $5 range ($5 for the really, really gourmet ones!).  When you stop by a vendor booth, you’ll get a ballot for the People’s Choice.  Be sure to hand that ballot into one of our roving Ballot collectors if that was the best grilled cheese sample you tried that day!

Entertainment

On our stage we will have plenty of fun stuff throughout the day.  Even you can get involved.  Stand-up comedy, cooking demos, and poetry, costume and cheese calling contests.  You can sign up at the stage to compete in the poetry, costume and cheese calling contests!  There’s prizes!

Raffle-age!

Citysearch.com will be kicking down some serious raffle-age, yo!  Be sure to fill out the raffle ticket in the event guide and drop it off at their booth to win a whole host of stuff including tickets to an upcoming movie premiere.

Beer Garden

The event has a charity beer garden benefiting Black Rock Solar, a non-profit solar power organization here in California.  Beers are sold at a donation price and all proceeds go to the non-profit.  Special thanks to the people at New Belgium Brewing, Stone Brewing and Lagunitas for donating all the beer for this fundraising event for Black Rock Solar!

In order to judge the competition at this year’s GCI, all judges (including MINORS) must register for membership in the judging society and present their membership card at the competition arena in order to judge.

COMPETITION JUDGING REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Don’t worry, if you did not sign up as an official judge, there is still PLENTY of fun stuff for you to do and you can still be a judge for the People’s Choice awards, voting on the best grilled cheese offered by our vendors.

Plus there’s plenty of Tillamook Samples, entertainment, Beer and lots more.

There’s even cheese calling!

There’s more than enough event to go around!

4/24/2010

12:00pm – 6:00pm

Los Angeles Center Studios

1201 West Fifth Street

Los Angeles, CA – America

$10  tix available now!    -    $15  @ event

• MOUNTAINS OF TILLAMOOK® GRILLED CHEESE SAMPLES!
• SPECIAL APPEARANCE OF THE LOAF LOVE TOUR!
• AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL GRILLING COMPETITONS!
• MULTIPLE FOOD VENDORS WITH SAMPLES FOR SALE!
• NEW AND ADDITIONAL SPONSORS AND FREE SAMPLES!
• BEER GARDEN!
• TROPHIES!
• POETRY!
• MUSIC!
• PRIZES!
• YELLING!
• KITTENS!*
• AWESOME!

(LOS ANGELES, CA) The organizers for the 1st 8th Annual National Grilled Cheese Invitational have opened their electronic floodgates and are now accepting registration for just about everything you could imagine at this year’s Grilled Cheese Invitational.

“The 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational will surely be the best thing to happen to mankind, ever!  Well maybe second to that whole ‘landing on the moon’ thing, but as far as mankind’s topmost achievements, it’s totally way up there!” says Tim Walker, the event’s founder and organizer.  “We have listened to the feedback from last year, spent a lot of time redesigning the event and have turned this event into something for everyone with both a grilling competition AND a grilled cheese festival with multiple vendors on hand to sell samples to the hungry masses!”

For 2010, the GCI has partnered with Tillamook Cheese as an exclusive cheese sponsor!  Tillamook will be on hand offering samples of their medium and sharp cheddar cheese as well as serving up thousands of samples of Grilled Cheese.  How awesome is that?  Have you seen their Loaf Love Tour mini busses yet?  They are currently touring around Southern California bringing tasty cheese to the people.  If not, no worries, they will be at the event and you’ll be able to see them there!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!  GET ‘EM HERE!

The event will be also be teaming up with the Grilled Cheese Truck as a mobile box office!  Tickets will be available through the Grilled Cheese Truck soon!

Do not hesitate to buy your tickets in advance as the EVENT WILL SELL OUT and you’ll be left with no cheese.

My god, just look at all this fun:

-NEW FOR 2010 -

ONLINE, ADVANCE TICKET SALES

To avoid the huge long lines at the gate last year, we will be selling our tickets online via beticketing.com.  Using their print at home option and scanners at the gate, we will be able to jet people though the gates and into the loving arms of some great grilled cheese and entertainment.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!  GET ‘EM HERE!

SEPARATE PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR GRILLING CONTESTS!

The time has come to allow both amateurs and professional chefs to compete side by side, but get scored in separate divisions.  We will still determine who is the overall Grilled Cheese Champion, but this will allow for more trophies and for a more fair competition overall.

ONLINE, PRE-EVENT JUDGING SOCIETY REGISTRATION!

All those looking to judge the grilling competitions MUST register with as a member of the Judging Society and must present their Membership card in order to enter the competition arena at the Grilled Cheese Invitational.  We will be limiting the number of judges at the event and there will be no on-site judging registration.  The on-site judging registration is what led to the massive lines at the event last year.  Now, we harness the power of teh interwebs!

JUDGING REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

Even though we are limiting the judging of the grilling competitions, there is still PLENTY of cheese to be judged…and just a day to do it.  With the addition of vendors selling Grilled Cheese samples, all event attendees will be handed a ballot and will be able to vote on the best grilled cheese offered up from our vendors.

CHEESE CALLING COMPETITION!

Think you’ve got a good enough set of lungs to call the cheese back to the barn, here’s your chance to prove it.  The 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational will bring back the sacred art of cheese yelling.  For centuries the idea of competitive yelling was limited only to the Hog variety, but no more!  Come April 24, wheels of cheese throughout the land will hear their names called and know that someone out there loved them.  There will be prizes for the best cheese calls.  And earplugs for the rest of us.

To enter the Cheese Calling Competition, CLICK HERE!

CHEESY COSTUME CONTEST!

The GCI has always inspired people to wear their best, most weird outfits out in public for all the world to see.  Now, it will reward you for it!  Sign up for our costume contest and get your chance at some prizes!  Seriously!

To enter the Cheesy Costume Contest, CLICK HERE!

Want to volunteer at the event!  AWESOME!

The Grilled Cheese Invitational needs an army of volunteers to bring the cheesy glory to the people.  Why not give us a hand?  You get to be a part of a truly awesome event and have a great time as well. Plus you get a very special feeling in your heart knowing that you were a part of making someone’s dream of becoming a grilled cheese champion a reality!

More details will be released in the coming days, so keep checking back for more info.

For up to the minute info on the Grilled Cheese Invitational, follow us on twitter @grilldcheez

For media or sponsorship related inquiries, please contact email us!

If you are a chef or restaurant and you’d like to participate as a vendor for this year’s GCI, email us!

For all other questions regarding the Grilled Cheese Invitational, contact us at hotcheeseygoodness@grilledcheeseinvitational.com.

* Kittens may not be available day of the event.

You’re done!

See you at the Invitational and may the best cheese win!

Here’s your chance to prove it.  Sign up for our 1st 1st Annual Cheese Calling competition and get a chance at history.

The Cheese Calling competition will take place at the Grilled Cheese Invitational and we’ll email you the details.

Good Luck!

Remember, the weirder, the better.  But this a family show, so keep it clean, kids!