Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting at the 2015 Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival
The 9th annual Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival is Sunday, January 17, and there will be delicious sweets with a delicious cause: UC Santa Cruz scholarships. The event is from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Cocoanut Grove by the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
The Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival brings together about two dozen vendors. See complete list. Participants include local confectioners and bakers like Ashby Confections, Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting, and Pure Heart Chocolate; restaurants like India Joze; and companies like MÄKSĒ Gourmet Rice Crisp Bars, My Mom’s Mole, and Nut Kreations. Wineries include Burrell School Winery and Vineyard and Sones Cellars, and breweries include Highway 1 Brewing Company.
Each food vendor will have treats such as truffles, cupcakes, or ice cream available in exchange for a tasting ticket. Buy tasting tickets at the event (admission is free) or online. Each $15 purchase gets you six chocolate or wine tastes.
There will be live music and a silent auction. Attendees can enjoy activities like cupcake decorating ($4) and face painting (prices vary depending on artist). Select booths will sell chocolate products like Valentine-themed gift boxes.
The festival benefits re-entry student scholarships at UC Santa Cruz (for students returning to higher education after an extended absence, often students who are also parents or military veterans).
The UCSC Women’s Club, a nonprofit organization open to women from both the campus and local communities, presents the chocolate festival. The club has meetings throughout the year (except for the summer) with engaging speakers, and also hosts interest groups including book clubs. In the last 37 years the club has awarded over 340 scholarships totaling nearly $250,000 to deserving women and men for research activities, tuition and childcare.
The Details
Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival
Cocoanut Grove, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz
Sunday, January 17, 2016 from 1-4pm
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