Chocolate
A woman paid $200 for teddy bear-shaped brownies during a live auction Saturday night at the 21st Annual Chocolate Festival, a fund raiser for the local Planned Parenthood. Festival organizer Nancy Sassano said, “The Logan festival is one of Planned Parenthood’s most successful fund raisers in Utah,” in part because of the products up for auction. “Most everyone loves chocolate, which is how we all got involved, by participating,” she said. “We liked the event. We wanted to be involved more, and so we ended up organizing it,” she said. More than 500 people came to the event, and last year, the Chocolate Festival raised a record-breaking $18,000, Sassano said.
“The best part is to see what people have come up with and to see all the displays before everyone starts showing up when it’s still quiet,” she said. “It’s hard to decide what to bid on.”
Entrant’s desserts are sampled and judged, she said. The first and second place winners in each category, grand prize, people’s choice winners and all professional entries were available during the live auction. The committee members dressed in valentine motif outfits, and a man in a kilt walked around displaying the items up for auction.
Entrants range from “everyday people who like to dabble in the kitchen,” Sassano said, to professional pastry chefs and culinary arts students. There are parent/child teams and teen entrants as well.
“It’s a foodsie event,” she said. “People are really using good quality ingredients and finding unique recipes.”
Local businesses like Café Ibis and Crumb Bothers donated desserts. Winning and professional desserts were being auctioned off for $100 to $300.
“The Chocolate Festival has developed a strong following from the community. It’s been going for over 20 years, and the support just keeps growing,” Sassano said. “Just the massive humanity to support Planned Parenthood is a big part of it all. It says a lot about this community, just by the people who turn out to show support.”
-n.drue.t@aggiemail.usu.edu
