The 41st annual Chocolate Fest brought community and chocolate sellers together for a night of fun, great chocolate, and a chance to support a meaningful foundation.
The event was held on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Congregational Church of the Peninsula. This year, about 700 people attended, which helped the church raise money to support its charity partners and preserve its historic building.
“We’re known as the chocolate church,” said Greg Thornhill, a long-time organizer and participant in the event.
Chocolate Fest is also a significant event for vendors. It allows them to form one-on-one connections with customers they are serving.
“They come to have people learn about them and their background and their culture and what makes their chocolate unique,” said Jill Visor, the event coordinator.
The event is fun and family-friendly, with many fun activities for children and adults. There is a raffle with donated prizes run by Thornhill, who dresses up as Willy Wonka every year.
“The event is good value,” said Haylee Stephens, who runs the NeoCocoa stand.
The church has two rooms filled with vendors so customers can mill about and find their favorite chocolates. The live band’s fall decorations and jazz give this event a fun and unique atmosphere.
When patrons aren’t inside, they can enjoy their food or free drinks on either of the two decks lit up all night by twinkling lights.
“The music, the atmosphere, the friendly people,” said Theresa Bruno, a second-year attendee of Chocolate Fest. “It’s a nice adventure.”
Chocolate Fest started in 1983 as a way to raise money to preserve the church and for the church to give back to a variety of different foundations.
This year, the event’s main shift has been supporting a single vendor. Normally, the event supports many philanthropies, including Second Harvest Food Bank and Samaritan House. Instead, this year, they are supporting a single benefactor, LifeMoves.
LifeMoves helps people struggling with homelessness and has shelters and resources.
“We know exactly who we are fundraising for,” Visor said.
When they were looking for an event to run, someone just threw out the idea of a chocolate festival, which stuck almost by chance.
“This was a long time before there were the chocolate salons and all of the things that are now, no one had ever done at a chocolate festival before,” said Michelle Carter, one of the first organizers of Chocolate Fest.
Getting the event started was a struggle for the church. Preston’s Candies was the first to agree to do the event, and from there, they convinced other vendors to join.
“That first year, we were all in the dining room, and I think we had, all told, about 300 people,” Carter said.
The event takes a lot of work from many people to pull off. They have volunteers from the church, their partner Life Moves, and even from Troop 27, the Scouts BSA Troop they sponsor.
Chocolate Fest has changed a lot since it started in 1983. The event has continued evolving in different ways; now, instead of being spread over Friday and Saturday, it is split into three distinct sessions on Saturday.
The community, the church, and all of the vendors strongly support the event through its current life and the future that it will have.
“It’s just a tradition for us,” said Kathy Luzzi, the owner of Kathy’s Kreative Kakes.
The long history of Chocolate Fest and its continued traditions make this event a celebration for chocolate lovers from all around.
“These are the kind of things that you know kind of make you glad to be attached to something that hangs around,” Carter said.
