Fifteen years of Chocolate Stroll means more chocolate for everyone.
“It’s our 15th year for the Chocolate Stroll Festival, so we are excited to mark this milestone,” said Sherene Player, chair of the Chocolate Stroll Committee. “Chocolate Stroll has really grown over the years and we’re going to have some cake (chocolate, of course) to celebrate it.”
The festival is looking to have a chocolate vendor, Lori Ann’s Candies, who has been with the festival all 15 years who will be recognized with a special ribbon at their booth.
“Besides these things, I just love welcoming all the visitors and locals to Uptown Mount Vernon to enjoy all things chocolate and to see all the innovative ways we’ve come up with to make it a fun day for everyone,” Player said.
The 15th Annual Mount Vernon Chocolate Stroll will take place Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along Mount Vernon’s historic First Street.
This chocolate-themed event features more than 30 participating businesses and pop-up vendors offering chocolate and chocolate-inspired products for sample and sale.
“We have some exciting vendors coming including artistic bon bons, truffles, ice cream, flavored honey, chocolate dipped pretzels, and more,” Player said.
New this year will be a cacao ceremony scheduled at 10 a.m. at Plantiful Pantry June 1 and a scavenger hunt for hidden chocolate bars that will take place throughout the day.
“Leah Houtman, one of our committee members, suggested having a Cacao Ceremony this year at one of our first planning meetings,” Player said. “She had taken a trip to Costa Rica and had participated in one there and had been really impressed with it. She knew someone who had experience with leading a Cacao Ceremony who even had pure cacao from Costa Rica to bring to it, so that will make it really special.”
The cacao ceremony is a donation event that will feature Dusty Swelha of Panda Marie to guide the audience through the ways cacao has been used throughout history. The event will be at Plantiful Pantry in uptown Mount Vernon at 10 a.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample ceremonial cacao from Costa Rico and experience a sound healing session.
A cacao ceremony is derived from using cacao as a tool for rejuvenation and self-discovery. Attendees embrace the connection with nature and use cacao for its meditative properties to help relax the body and clear the mind for pure self-reflection. It is often combined with intention setting, guided meditation, burning sage or incense, or a sound bath. You may not be familiar with the term sound bath, but what it is immersing yourself in reverberating sounds to help with relaxation and meditation.
Registration for the cacao ceremony is requested by visiting the Chocolate Stroll’s Facebook event page.
Another new event this year is a Great Golden Ticket Hunt.
“There will be 10 chocolate bars, wrapped in our Chocolate Stroll logo, hidden in various shops Uptown,” Player said. “Inside each of these is a Golden Ticket. When people find a golden ticket, they will bring it to the Information Booth at City Hall and will be given a certificate for $10 in Uptown Bucks to be spent at any Uptown shop or restaurant.”
As well as the $10, golden ticket winners will be entered in a drawing that will take place at 3 p.m. at the gazebo in Mount Vernon’s Memorial Park. Winners must be present to win.
“If their name is drawn, they will win a big basket filled with chocolate and other great prizes from Uptown businesses,” Player said. “We think that this contest, along with the Passport Contest and the Candy Guessing Game Contests will just add to the fun of Chocolate Stroll.”
Also returning this year will be the “Make it With Chocolate” contest. Anyone who loves baking with chocolate, this entry is for you.
“We were so glad to be able to bring back the Dessert Contest last year and will be doing it again,” Player said. “The entry forms are available at the Visitor Center and also on the CDG website. There are both Youth and Adult categories. This will be held at the lower level of The Local this year.”
Entries can be brought to the bottom level of The Local from 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. Complete an entry form for the age group you are participating in and the winners will be announced by noon that day, after being judged.
Entries must have chocolate as a featured ingredient of the dish. If you are presenting an entry like cupcakes or cookies, a total of six of those should be presented as an entry. If you are preparing a larger dish, the entire entry should be presented. If your dish requires refrigeration, please bring a cooler to house the desert.
Entries will be judged on appearance, flavor and use of chocolate in the dish.
Three prizes will be awarded to each age category.
Baking dishes and plates can be picked up at 3 p.m. the day of the contest.
Entry forms are available at visitmvl.com.
Many other favorite activities will also return this year, including children’s activities at Memorial Park, the point 5K race in uptown Mount Vernon and the passports that get stamped at area businesses.
Commemorative chocolate coolers are available for $5 and available at city hall until they run out, and maps for the event will be located at Mount Vernon City Hall and down at First Street Community Center during the event. Free water will also be handed out at those locations throughout the day.
Player said that volunteer shifts are also still available for the day, and most only take an hour to complete.
“We’ve found that people like coming to help for an hour, then they go and see Chocolate Stroll, and then they will help at another shift or two, so it makes it possible for people to help and have fun,” Player said.
If you are interested in volunteering, visit https://signup.com/go/HBWMCcU.
“We will take volunteers of all ages and abilities,” Player said. “Some of the shifts are simple, yet important things, like sitting in the Visitor Center so that people can come in and use the bathroom and get a bottle of water. High School students can sign up for a shift without a parent assisting them, but Middle School and Elementary Students who want to help are welcome to sign up as long as a parent is signing up to help at the same time.”
And chocolate themed characters and costumes are always welcome.
“We get everything from characters from “Willy Wonka” to people dressed like cupcakes and chocolate cake,” Player said. “It’s really fun to run into one of these people and it’s an awesome picture to have for a memory of Chocolate Stroll.
“The men who own Happy Daze have a beautiful white German Shepherd and it will also be available for pictures for visitors as our ‘White Chocolate Dog.’”
Chocolate Stroll returns June 1
Nathan Countryman, Editor
May 23, 2024
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.