At the Chocolate Lovers Festival in 2009, Lily Lane Cakes produced a chocolate gorilla cake for the food art competition.
Fairfax City’s Chocolate Lovers Festival, an annual event taking place this weekend, has long served as a reminder of how a mutual love for dessert can bring people together.
“Chocolate wears so many different faces and means such different things to everyone,” said Beverly Myers, Chocolate Lovers Festival Committee member. “It can warm us when we come in from the cold; it can put smiles on our faces when it is received or presented for special occasions.”
The initial purpose of the festival, which first began in 1993, was to draw visitors to Old Town Fairfax, as well as to foster a sense of community among city government, local businesses and residents.
It has since morphed into something bigger: a tourist destination.
“There are so many chocolate lovers around that it really draws people out to the downtown area,” said Leslie Herman, chairman of the Chocolate Lovers Festival Committee.
One of the fundamental attractions is the Taste of Chocolate, where chocolate lovers and confectioners — with their creations proudly on display for purchase — intermingle in a jam-packed Old Town Hall. Herman said close to 10,000 people attend the festival each year, something directly attributed to the recurring success of this specific event.
Another draw is the Chocolate Challenge, a food art competition for both amateur and professional bakers sponsored by George Mason University’s nutrition and food studies department. This year’s judging panel — which evaluates based on taste and design — includes Scott Silverthorne, mayor of Fairfax City, and Food Network star Warren Brown.
All proceeds from the weekend will go toward a grant program established by the Chocolate Lovers Festival Committee. The three grant recipients this year are the Fairfax City Fire Department, the Fairfax City Green Acres Senior Center and Shelter House.
The festival boasts nonfood-related events as well, such as the Animal Ambassadors-organized “Journey to the Jungle,” a talk on the origin and nature of the cocoa bean created specifically for a younger audience.
“It gives something else for the parents to do with their children,” Herman said. “On top of just eating tons of chocolate.”
Despite the push to keep the components somewhat diverse, the festival still focuses on chocolate and the uncanny ability it has to cultivate a sense of community.
“Chocolate has that common thread that sews us all together,” said Myers.
The Chocolate Lovers Festival is on Saturday and Sunday. Some events require a fee; others are open to everyone.
