Burlington sure does as it hosts annual festival
If you crave chocolate and want a sweet, brief excursion from everyday life, Burlington ChocolateFest is just the ticket.
This year’s theme is “Got Chocolate?” and the festival’s volunteer organizers are ready to answer with a resounding, “Yes, and a whole lot more.”
This year’s festival opens Friday at 4 p.m. and runs through the Memorial Day weekend with food, music and fun activities centered on its confectionary theme.
The lineup for this annual four-day festival plunges right into the chocolate Friday at 6 p.m. with the increasingly popular Chef Meltdown competition in the Chocolate Experience Tent.
Project Yum-Way is back with fashions designed out of candy wrappers, along with geo-cache, candy bar eating contests, Choc-o-lympics, chocolate bake-off, and a cookie-decorating contest. Visitors may purchase a “taster ticket” which buys you chocolate samples from participating vendors and kids will again be able to participate in the chocolate chunk dig.
New this year will be a Man vs. Chocolate event as well as a Chocolate City Flash Mob. What’s that? A flash mob is when a large group of people, seemingly out of nowhere, perform a dance routine. Visit the website (www.chocolatefest.com) for more information on participating in this year’s flash mob.
Looking for entertainment? ChocolateFest has you covered with four stages offering various entertainment throughout each day. Main Stage headliners include Creaboca (10 p.m. Friday), The Toys (8 p.m. Saturday), Love Monkeys (8 p.m. Sunday), and Oil Can Harry (4 p.m. Monday).
For thrill seeks, the Burlington Rotary Club again presents Blomsness North American Midway Entertainment, the largest traveling carnival company in the nation. Special $25 wristband promotions enable wearers to ride as much as they want on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to close, and on Monday from noon to close. Separate wristbands must be purchased for each session.
Friday night features Bartolotta Fireworks after dark, and Monday is reserved for the traditional Veteran’s Memorial Day Parade in downtown Burlington.
There will be a petting zoo, a NASCAR exhibit, and acts featuring a hypnotist, magician and juggler. A new feature this year is Forms In Motion, an aerial and aerobatic entertainment group with a theatrical flair will be performing.
For additional information and complete schedules, visit www.chocolatefest.com.
ChocolateFest at a glance
What: Burlington ChocolateFest.
When: Friday, May 25, 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday and Sunday, May 26-27, 10 a.m. to midnight; Monday, May 28, noon to 8 p.m.
Where: ChocolateFest grounds on Maryland Avenue, just off Milwaukee Avenue (formerly Highway 36).
Tickets: General admission – adults 13 and older, $8; children 5-12, $3; children 4 and younger, free. Taster Tickets are $6 and include chocolate samples from selected vendors.
Lowdown: Celebrate the Memorial Day weekend with a sweet helping of chocolate and chocolate-themed activities – from a chef meltdown competition to a chocolate wrapper fashion contest and candy bar eating contests. There’ll also be four stages of music and entertainment as well as the largest traveling carnival in the country.
Information: For a full schedule of activities and events, visit www.chocolatefest.com
Did you know?
• The festival is run entirely by volunteers from the community since 1987 and is now held on a permanent 20-acre site on Maryland Avenue just off Milwaukee Avenue (formerly Highway 36).
• ChocolateFest serves as the major annual fundraiser for more than 60 civic groups, non-profit organizations and charities. Last year, the festival generated $129,641 for these organizations, which in turn poured those funds back into the community through projects and programs.
What’s new?
New this year will be a Man vs. Chocolate event as well as a Chocolate City Flash Mob. What’s that? A flash mob is when a large group of people, seemingly out of nowhere, perform a dance routine. Visit the website (www.chocolatefest.com) for more information on participating in this year’s flash mob.
-
-
-
-
-