Is the cold weather really getting to you? Are you already having one of those years where you’re thinking “One month down, eleven more to go”? Well, if you are having one of those years where nothing seems to be going right or you’re just sick and tired of the cold weather, you may be looking for a way to cheer yourself up. Luckily, coming up with a good way to lift yourself out of the winter blues can be easier than you might think during the month of February. This is because the stuff that melts in your mouth, your hands, and quite frankly everywhere else during the summer is pretty easy to find during this time of year.
Of course, I’m talking about chocolate, and more specifically about the chocolate festivals that typically occur throughout the continental United States (and a number of other countries as well) around the day that everyone’s loves to love, or in some cases dread, Valentine’s Day. In fact, chocolate festivals are held in many areas throughout the world during this time of year, and there’s a pretty good chance that you will be able to find a festival in your local area at some point this month. With the goal of helping you find some chocolate in mind, here are a few of the major festivals in the continental United States over the next couple of weeks:
1. The Enumclaw Wine and Chocolate Festival takes place from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. today (Friday, February 1st) and from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, February 2nd) at the Expo Center in Enumclaw, WA. This festival features a wide selection of wine, chocolate, cars that the average person would never be able to afford, and entertainment ranging from aerialists to musical performers. For more information, visit the festival’s website.
2. The Firehouse Art Center Chocolate Festival takes place at the Norman Firehouse Art Center in Norman, OK on February 2nd from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This festival has won a number of awards and features an enormous assortment of chocolates from a variety of vendors and free art-related activities for children. For more information, visit the City of Norman website or the Norman Firehouse Art Center website.
3. The Salem So Sweet Chocolate Festival takes place in Salem, MA from Friday, February 8th to Friday, February 15th. This festival not only features the chocolate that you would typically expect from a chocolate festival, but also includes wine tastings and another thing that will certainly melt in higher temperatures – ice sculptures. For more information, visit the Salem Chamber of Commerce’s website or the Salem Haunted Happenings Website.
Please Note: The chocolate sampling and the wine tastings for the Salem So Sweet Chocolate Festival, which were originally scheduled for today, have been moved to Friday, February 15th (the day after Valentine’s Day) due to the blizzard.