Chocolate Festival

Chocolate seems to be everyone’s guilty pleasure, satisfy your sweet tooth this weekend at a once a year chocolate lovers event.

Fairchild Tropical Gardens has paired up with Whole Foods to host the International Chocolate Festival with Coffee and Tea. This will be the festival’s fifth year and many events are in store tospan the weekend.

“I can’t really think of anything more appealing than a festival of chocolate,” said junior Katey Ceccarelli.

Admission is $25 for nonmembers and free for Fairchild members. You can also save five dollars on admission if you walk, bike or use public transportation, it’s their way of promoting conservation. The event will last the entire weekend and doors open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m.

The three day event will have chocolate treats like chocolate crepes, chocolate dipped churros and chicken with a mole sauce, as well as cups of coffee and tea being sold by local vendors, andthere will be even samples.

Ever wanted to know how to make hazelnut truffles or a chocolate flourless cake? There is going to be a large variety of cooking classes featuring all the savory and sweet things you can do with chocolate as well as tastings afterwards.

“The chocolate festival seems like such a cool event,” said freshman Alea Agrawal. “I can’t waitto go and get free samples and the cooking classes look like a lot of fun.”

There will also be a Chocowalk where you tour the grounds and see the cacao trees in the garden’s rainforest and afterwards you can see how chocolate is made.

If you are looking for something different to do this weekend while you still have no homework,then take the metro, get five dollars off, and come to the Fairchild Tropical Garden’s version of Willy Wonka, it is sure not to disappoint.

Nancy Oben may be contacted at noben@themiamihurricane.com.