Bloomington plays host to sweet week of chocolate

The Victorian maxim "moderation in all things" has become a mantra of American culture, being preached by fitness buffs and wellness gurus alike.\nThese people obviously don't understand Bloomington's taste for chocolate. \nThe Week of Chocolate begins Saturday and will run for one week until Feb. 3. The week will see 60,000 pounds of chocolate consumed, seven local nonprofit community organizations benefited and eight days of providing exposure for everything sweet about Bloomington. \n"For the life of me, I can't think of anything like this," said Melissa Copas, development director for Options for Better Living, the presenter of the Week of Chocolate. Options is a nonprofit organization that connects people with disabilities with their communities to help them live self-directed and fulfilled lives.\nThe eight days of activities will be bookended by Options' signature events, the Art of Chocolate on Sunday and Chocolate Fest on Saturday, Feb. 3. All proceeds from both of the events go directly to Options' Respite program, which benefits the families of children with disabilities. \n"When a member of a family has a disability, they have to fill out an application for financial assistance to get federal or state funding," Copas explained. "There is a six-year waiting list for that assistance. So we do this fundraiser to get money to provide some services while these families are still waiting for federal and state services. This way, they're not all alone." \nThe week begins Saturday with the History of Chocolate, held at the Monroe County History Center, from 1 to 4 p.m. Enjoy Bloomington's most historic chocolate recipes including Morris Binkley's Campaign Fudge and Tao Restaurant's coffee toffee pie, a 30-year-old recipe. \nOne signature event, the Art of Chocolate, will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the IU Art Museum on Sunday. This event is three years old and began as an alternative to Chocolate Fest's Chocolate Creations Contest for local chefs to showcase their work.\n"Entries in the contest get cut up and served right away," Copas said. "And we had chefs asking, 'You know, I want to do something more spectacular with chocolate.' The Art of Chocolate is more of a display of all of the fabulous desserts."\nThe evening includes private tours of the art museum, live jazz from Julian Bransby, wine tasting from Oliver Winery, and appetizers provided by Michael's Uptown Cafe, The Cake & the Caterer, and Middle Way Food Works. Tickets are $40. \nEvents throughout the week include the Chocolate Carnival on Monday, a family event sponsored by Girls Inc.; Death by Chocolate on Thursday, an interactive murder mystery sponsored by Citizens Advocacy; and the Chocolate Prom on Friday, an all-ages prom featuring a chocolate buffet against the background of Hershey's Kisses covers.\nThe ending event, Chocolate Fest, will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 in the Bloomington Convention Center. This event's main attraction is the Chocolate Creations Contest, in which chefs will compete to make the tastiest, most attractive chocolate specialty. Copas said this event typically has more than 200 contestants, all of whom are required to bring at least 2,000 pieces of chocolate. There will also be local, national and global vendors giving away free samples. This amounts to a bona fide chocolate feast.\n"It's our big bash," Copas said. "We have a truckload of milk coming from Kroger's, gourmet coffees, Oliver's wine tasting, Upland Brewery's chocolate stout and everything from Godiva to the Chocolate Emporium." \nUpstairs, Craig and the Crawdads, and The Big Ole' Things will play what Copas calls "good old rock 'n' roll," while downstairs the Johnny Whiteman Quintet will play smooth jazz. A silent auction will be accepting bids throughout the night on items including an autographed Colts helmet. Tickets are $15 for adults at the door and $12 in advance. Children's tickets are $6 at the door and $5 in advance. \nCopas said Options is still in need of volunteers to get the event off the ground. \n"It takes us about 200 volunteers every year," she said. "And since volunteers get a free ticket and they only work about two- or three-hour shifts, we're really paying them to come to our event." \nFor more information on any of the events or on how to volunteer or compete in the Chocolate Creations Contest, visit www.weekofchocolate.com.