Chocolate Fest entices thousands

Flora Knable spent her birthday selecting gourmet pieces of chocolate and washing the sweets down with Upland Chocolate Stout.\n"It's my favorite," said the Bloomington resident of the stout. "I've made it before on my own, except we called it 'Chocolate Fog' because it was a school day with a two-hour delay."\nKnable was one of several thousand who attended the 10th annual Chocolate Fest Saturday night at the Bloomington Convention Center.\nWhile lines of anxious chocolate fans weaved through rows of tables, filled with chocolate fountains, truffles and more, Knable was among the judges, ranking the smell, appearance and texture of chocolate submissions.\nKnable received the position after her husband, John Smith, donated a bike from his store, Bikesmith, 112 S. College Ave. \n"I gave a chocolate bike," Smith said. "Well, it's a brown bike. I didn't even think about it until after, but it's perfect -- it's the chocolate color."\nHundreds purchased raffle tickets hoping to win the donated bike while others across the room submitted bids for a silent auction offering prizes such as Indianapolis Indians baseball tickets, crystal, gift certificates to local restaurants and a football helmet autographed by an Indianapolis Colts player.\nAll of the proceeds of Saturday's event went to benefit Options for Better Living, a nonprofit organization that "partners with people with disabilities and their communities to bring about better lives," said Melissa Copas, Options development director.\nThe festival is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Options, said Phui Ling Ho, Executive Assistant for Options. The goal was to net $40,000 by the end of the night, all money that would be received from ticket sales. \nFor freshman Kristina Bell the goal seemed to be to acquire as much of the cacao-based food as possible. Pulling a bulging Ziploc bag from her purse, filled with samples, she turned down another bite of a cookie from her floormate from Reed Center.\n"Within the first 15 minutes my stomach was full," Bell said. Her favorite treat was a creation called "The Billion-Dollar Brownie."\nWrapped in gold aluminum foil, the brownies are "worth their wait in gold," said chef Dalene Almeida of Meals on Heels. The Indianapolis business owner presented the moist dessert, describing Meals on Heels as a mobile kitchen. In her first marketing attempt outside of restaurants, the crowd seemed pleased.\n"It tastes like batter," said graduate student Sarah Shore, as she took a bite. Her friend Amy Weaver, an IU doctoral student, agreed. Besides the chocolate, Weaver was also drawn to Saturday's event because of what it benefited.\n"I wanted to support Options," Walker said. "They're similar to my area of study." \nServing seven surrounding counties, Options has about 250 customers who benefit from the free services, Copas said. These include assistance obtaining jobs, housing and life skills for the disabled, as well as support for their families.\nBloomingfoods, which has been a part of the festival for each year of its 10-year run, also supported helping others Saturday night. Their efforts come in the form of "Fair Trade" chocolate, said member services coordinator Jean Kautt. \n"In chocolate and coffee, growers typically get next to nothing for their crops," Kautt said, a problem Fair Trade is trying to combat. Growers of all of the chocolate sold at Bloomingfoods, 3220 E. Third St., have been paid sufficiently, Kautt said.\nAs eager hands reached for their truffles, smiles followed, along with advice on savoring. \n"You've got to let them melt in your mouth," senior John Anderson instructed. "It's the only way"