|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Chocolate is for lovers
Are you looking for something to do this weekend that is nearby, will help a great cause, and is fun and tantalizingly pleasing?
Well, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2-3, the City of Fairfax will host its annual Chocolate Lovers Festival featuring a schedule of events sure to sweeten your fancy. A portion of the proceeds raised will be given to Our Daily Bread, a volunteer-based organization focused on easing the plight of low-income residents in Fairfax.
So, splurge and indulge your chocolate appetite one or both days by sampling delectable goodies – cakes, brownies, fudge and ice cream, to name of few of the scrumptious treats offered in various buildings in the City of Fairfax.
Admission to the festival is free. Pogs (wooden coins) traded for tastes, costing $1 each, will allow adults to join the area’s most talented chefs in judging various categories in the Chocolate Challenge at the City Hall Atrium on Armstrong Street.
Vendors will sell tempting treats. At Fire Station 3, the Kiwanis Club of Fairfax will serve breakfast featuring regular or chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, coffee, juice, or milk at $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 4 to 10.
“Subs, hot dogs, chili and soup will also be sold by the Volunteer Fire Department,” said Peggy McElhinney, president of the Auxiliary to the Fairfax City Volunteer Fire Department.
There will be more to do than just ogle over luscious chocolate and tempting treats.
“The purpose of the Chocolate Lovers Festival is to draw visitors and residents to Old Town Fairfax, and chocolate is a very attractive way to bring people together,” said Chris Fow, who works in the community relations office of Fairfax City. “Walking from building to building helps people become more familiar with the city.”
Each building will have plenty of attractions to keep visitors entertained.
“Kids will be able to get on stage with a microphone and tell funny jokes,” said children’s author Edward Faine, who will guide children in joke telling. On Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Fire Station 3, he will inscribe his best-selling books, which include "How to Cowboy" and "Bebop Babies," to children at no cost.
Storyteller Gary Lloyd has told chocolate-covered tales, which he said “melt in your ears, not in your hands,” at the festival for the last five years. On Saturday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the City Hall Annex, Lloyd will share classics with a chocolate twist, such as “Goldy Locks and the Three Bars” and “Queen Beatrice’s Chocolate Touch,” to children and adults of all ages.
Using puppets, the Fairfax City Fire Department will teach children fire safety techniques, such as “crawling low in smoke, practicing fire drills and calling 911,” according to Fairfax City’s Web site.
Parents will be able to get their children fingerprinted at the Fairfax Court House on both Saturday and Sunday. There also will be a seminar for teens and parents on Internet safety at the courthouse at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
If you think you're smarter than a lawyer, come play a legal game against a lawyer to prove your judicial brilliance. The Fairfax Bar Association will also hold a mock trial in both English and Spanish to explain the justice system to children and adults, according to Fairfax City’s online event calendar.
Wait, there’s more. For the animal enthusiast, learn about the rain forest and get a chance to see a rodent called an agouti and an 11-inch giant millipede.
“Children will also be able to touch a 9-foot boa constrictor,” said Leslie Herman, special events coordinator for the City of Fairfax.
Let’s not forget about the craft lover. Take this opportunity to shop for your Valentine at the craft show and bake sale at Fire Station 3 on University Drive.
“The only outside event will be at noon on Saturday at South Street and University Drive, where, weather permitting, Jim Moyer’s circus club will perform juggling acts, walk on stilts, ride on a unicycle and perform acrobatics,” the Auxiliary's McElhinney said.
The 2008 Chocolate Lovers Festival will be replete with entertainment, educational and fun activities ... and scrumptious chocolate, of course!
Contact the writer at jalightburn@comcast.net
You must be logged in to post a comment.