Get ready, Chocoholics! Your ship has finally come in. The first annual
Colorado Chocolate Festival is coming to theDenver Merchandise MartMay 9 - 10! And yes, there will be loads of free samples to taste! Having lured over100 vendors from14 statesto bring chocolate and other goodies to the giant debut event, you'd think promoter Dana Cain's work was done. But wait... there's more!
The
Colorado Chocolate Festival also includes special guest presenters, a feature film presentation, live cooking demos, wine tasting, a Willy Wonka photo booth, chocolate body painting, kids' activities and loads more. There's even a chocolate spa area, where you can treat yourself to a chocolate facial, have your nails painted brown, or go for the cocoa butter massage.
In case the dates didn't tip you off, this all takes place the Friday and Saturday leading into Mother's Day. Talk about timing! In honor of mom, the
Chocolate Festival also features a special "Mother's Day Gift Market" area... where you may purchase goodies such as chocolate-scented candles, chocolate-themed jewelry, beautiful artist-designed clothes,art glass,antiques and more!
For the chocolatiers, bakers and chefs, the Colorado Chocolate Festivalhosts a variety of contests. The Chocolatier Championships, open only to culinary professionals, promises to bring out the very best in each of the five competitive categories: Best Truffle, Best Brownie, Best Chocolate Dessert Sauce, Best Mole Sauce and Most Creative Dessert. There will also be a visually stunning Chocolate Wedding Cake Competition, sponsored by
Rocky Mountain Bride magazine, and an old-fashioned state fair-style "Fudge Off," open to the general public and judged by
KHOW's Gabby Gourmet! A chocolate sculpting contest is also in the works!
Friday evening, May 9, the
Colorado Chocolate Festival opens its doors for a gala preview celebration from 7 - 10 pm. Live music, chocolate sculptingand wine tasting dominate the event schedule. And the cash bar will feature dessert wines and chocolate martinis.the main attraction, however, will beall 100+ vendor booths open for business, offering first dibs on thousands of chocolates and gifts... and enough free samples to give even the hardiest chocoholic pause. We are talking chocolate overload!
Saturday's Chocolate Festival roster will be more family-oriented. The bar will be replaced by a "Chocolate Children" station, complete with plenty of chocolate-themed activities. The Festival's "Creation Station" area will offer cooking demos throughout the day, and the Main Events Stage will be buzzing with various entertainment all day long. KHOW's Gabby Gourmet will be broadcasting live from the Festival from 1 - 3 on Saturday! A full program schedule will be available in April. Saturday hours are 10 am - 6pm.
The First Annual
Colorado Chocolate Festival is benefiting Rocky Mountain PBS and its annual on-air auction, with a percentage every ticket sold going directly to the public television station.
Admission to the
Colorado Chocolate Festival is $5 on Saturday. Children age 5 - 12 get in for $2, and under age 5 are admitted free of charge. Tickets for the Friday Night Gala are $10 for all. Tickets may be purchased online at
www.coloradochocolatefestival.eventbrite.com. A limited number of vendor booths are also still available. For more information, visit
www.chocolate-festival.org or call event organizer Dana Cain at 303-347-8252.