On Oct. 13, the word on campus was “delicious” or simply “srumptious” as NSU hosted The Festival of Chocolate.
The festival catered to the culinary desires of cocoa fanatics with a wide variety of activities and displays. Attendees learned about the history of chocolate through a “chocolate museum”; marveled at enormous chocolate sculpture;, and participated in an interactive talk show called “Fifty Shades of Chocolate.” There was even a chocolate fashion show, which displayed incredible clothing and accessories made not out of cotton, leather or satin, but — you guessed it — chocolate.
For some attendees, the best part of the festival wasn’t viewing the chocolate offerings, but tasting them. A variety of local and national chocolate vendors set up booths in the Arena Don Taft University Center, and gave out complimentary samples.
Although some attractions were exclusively geared toward adults — a wine and chocolate sampling, there were also plenty of activities for younger chocolate lovers. Energetic children satisfied their sweet teeth with a scavenger hunt, chocolate trivia, a fun challenge called the “Chocolate Marshmallow Launcher 3000”, and a cupcake decoration station.
Many NSU students enjoyed the chance to learn more about chocolate — a subject that’s quite different from their usual academic studies.
April Clark, a graduate student in marine biology, said she liked being able to “see what people can do with chocolate,” since that isn’t something she gets to see very often.
A packed crowd flowed through the Don Taft University Center on Saturday morning, just as the festival began, to see extravagant chocolate displays. 2,500 tickets had already been sold beforehand.
Aileen Mand, the event’s producer, said that she expected between 6,000 and 8,000 attendees.
But for Mand, the best part of the entire weekend wasn’t the chocolate itself. It was “watching people of all ages feel like a kid in a candy store.”
