Chocolate festival needs support
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Chocolate lovers can bid on treats while supporting the community at Wednesday’s annual Chocolate Festival in Arlee.
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ARLEE – Tonight chocolate treats including a smooth layered chocolate lasagna, gooey chocolate brownies and melt-in-your-mouth truffles can be found at the 12th annual Chocolate Lovers’ Festival — and it’s for a good cause.
“The money raised goes to the Jocko Valley Library so they can keep going, and it goes to youth programs,” said coordinator Shannon Patton.
The tasting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3, for $2. Families pay only $5. The delicious chocolate dishes are donated two at a time. One dish is served during the tasting, and the second dish is taken by the highest bidder during the auction that starts at 7:30 p.m.
“Every bid helps a kid,” Patton said.
The best year for the event brought in more than $4,000, and Patton wants to break that record.
“I’m hoping the Brown Building will be too small,” she said of the number of people that could fill up the building during the event. “We need to raise some money for the kids.”
Many programs benefit from the fundraiser.
“We’ve helped little league with uniforms and we’ve bought new goals for Mission Valley Soccer,” she said. “We would like to raise enough money to bring back the after school art program.”
Last year, the event didn’t do so well, possibly due to scheduling.
“We had to hold it later in the year and we just didn’t have a big turnout, so we could really use the support this year,” Patton said. “We are crossing our fingers ... I think it’s going to be a good one.”
Two chocolate creations can be brought to the event right up until the tasting starts, and the best chocolate treats in several categories will get a prize.
“We have gift cards and gift baskets,” she said.
High school students in Leslie Jackson’s Family and Consumer Sciences class whipped up a few chocolate confections for the event. Matt Brown and Troy Patton plan on bringing their guitars again this year to play a few tunes and Gary Decker is setting up a table to share information about the Jocko Valley Trails.
People can also sign up to be part of the Community Development Corporation while they enjoy their chocolate. The CDC helps foster projects beneficial to the area, and people that join the group don’t have to do anything after they pay the $10 dues.
“You don’t have to be on a committee or attend meetings,” she said. “We just need to show that we have community interest so that we can qualify for grants to fund projects.”
For more information about the CDC or the festival, call 406-726-5550.
