Chocolate Festival critical to arts programs
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ARLEE – Decadent sweets up for sale in Arlee this week will provide more than a temporary sugar high. Proceeds from the treats will fuel long-term mental nourishment for the town’s youth.
The 10th annual Chocolate Lover’s Festival is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 12. The event was started by the Arlee Community Development Corporation nearly a decade ago to raise funds for children’s programs in the community and the Jocko Library. This year, because of budget cuts by the Arlee School District, the event is even more crucial for providing arts education to students.
The district used to have two art and music teachers, but now it only has one.
“Instead of having music for 45 minutes twice per week, now it is 45 minutes once per week, every other week,” fourth-grade teacher Dan Ries said. “You can’t blame the school. They are trying to find money. I just wanted to find a way to supplement the students art.”
The non-profit Arlee CDC stepped up to the plate.
“They brought in professional artists,” Ries said. “We took little field trips down to the Hangin Art Gallery. We’ve done work with clay and weaving. We’ve done work with painting. It’s just a really good supplement for the arts in our community.”
The CDC would like to revive the longstanding after-school arts program it ran for many years, according to Donna Mollica, executive director and Hangin Art Gallery co-owner. The program disbanded last year after Arlee transitioned to a four-day school week with longer school days.
“The kids didn’t get here until 4:10 or so,” Mollica said. “It was pretty late in the day.”
The Arlee CDC also funds the completely volunteer Jocko Library that “operates on a shoestring,” according to Mollica.
The Chocolate Festival is the non-profit’s biggest fundraiser. Each year, starting in the early afternoon hours, contestants bring two identical plates — one for tasting, one for auctioning off— to the Brown Building on Hwy. 93. By evening, the building is packed with community members. They taste the confections from one plate with no idea who cooked the delicacies. People vote on their favorites in categories that include a children’s division.
“We think it is important that (the kids) participate in the event that ends up benefiting them,” Mollica said. “It is such an important part of it.”
The treats are auctioned off to the highest bidder.
“We always need more bidders,” CDC board member Shannon Buhr said. This year’s event was moved to a Wednesday night so families that have sporting events and practices other days of the week can attend.
People can drop off their creations at the Brown Building from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. Feb. 12. Tasting begins at 6:30 p.m. It costs $2 per person and $5 per family to taste. At 7:30 p.m., JR Strand from Missoula will auction off the treats.
To learn more about how to snag a sweet treat just in time for Valentine’s Day, call (406) 726-5550.
