On March 15, the McLean community came together to celebrate the annual McLean Chocolate Festival held in the city’s community center. Since 2012, 14 chocolate vendors have come together at this event hosted by the Rotary Club to share their creations and strengthen the sense of community.
Despite the name, the event features more than just chocolate. Over the years, the festival has expanded to include various designated rooms for different activities, including a children’s game room and a performance room.
“We used to just [center around chocolate], but now we have entertainment [as well],” said John McEvilly, chairman of the Chocolate Festival committee. “We have musicians that come back each year and we [also] have expanded what we do in the children’s game room to activities like face painting and coloring.”
The festival is hosted by the McLean Rotary Club. The purpose of the Chocolate Festival is not only to facilitate community building, but also to fundraise for the club’s numerous service projects and initiatives.
“The [profit] that we collect from the chocolate festival is [used] to fund grants,” McEvily said. “This [festival] is one of the biggest parts of our fundraising.”
In past years, the club has used the money raised to award scholarships to local graduating students, provide books to disadvantaged elementary schools and fund hunger relief in the area.
“I never knew the greater purpose behind this event,” said Katie Lee, a festival attendee. “But after reading the [brochure] we were handed, I understood why so many people keep returning and attending the [event],“
The Chocolate Festival, at its core, provides customers with an opportunity to shop for a variety of chocolates, while simultaneously shining a spotlight on small businesses.
“[The event] helps put us on the map in terms of giving us visibility, [which] is really important for small businesses like us,” said Jessica Ashkenazi, owner of Mother Clusters, a vendor at the Chocolate Festival.
Although the Chocolate Festival only occurs once a year, members of the Rotary Club dedicate countless hours to planning the event to ensure the event runs smoothly.
“We start working on the festival five months in advance,” McEvily said. “We have a committee meeting once a month to track the vendors and the exhibitors.”
Due to emergency weather conditions earlier this year, the Chocolate Festival departed from its tradition of being held in the last week of January.
“This year we had that snowstorm, so we had to scramble [to contact] the community center and all the vendors and exhibitors to change the date,” McEvily said. “It was very stressful there for a while.”
Yet minor setbacks did not deter the McLean Rotary Club, and only motivated the members to make this year’s festival better than ever. Their continued effort is what allowed the event to succeed and bring both returning and new customers.
“I really like how everyone is just here on a random Sunday to have fun,” Lee said. “My family [brought] me [to the festival] this year, but I will definitely come with my friends again [in the future].”
