McLean Chocolate Festival is back for 11th year this Sunday

The Rotary Club of McLean will peer back into the colonial era this weekend for its 11th annual chocolate festival.

Set to return this Sunday (Jan. 29), the McLean Chocolate Festival will feature a colonial America chocolate-making demonstration, along with vendors, free entertainment and children’s games. The demo is being presented by American Heritage, a brand of locally headquartered candy maker Mars Inc.

The festival is organized by and serves as a key fundraiser for the rotary club, which uses the proceeds to support local and international charities and educational programs, according to the website.

The 2022 festival, which marked a return after a year off due to Covid, drew 2,500 attendees and raised almost $24,000, the rotary club says.

The following chocolatiers and other vendors will be participating this year:

• Cameron’s Coffee and Chocolates
• The Capital Candy Jar
• Le Papiyon Chocolatier
• Soul Good Kitchen
• Chesterbrook Residences
• River-Sea Chocolates
• Arcay Chocolates
• Sugar Mama’s Ice Cream
• Pacari Chocolate
• Lammar Marie’s Gourmet Popcorn
• Tysons Creamery
• My Alfajor
• Artisan Confections
• United Flavors, which sells hand-crafted chocolate bonbons and other sweets

Entertainment options include a talk about the history of chocolate from Mars Inc. chocolate historian Dave Borghesani and music from the J2N2 Project, a Maryland-based flute quartet.

The festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue). Admission costs $2, though kids 3 and under can get in for free.

For anyone whose chocolate cravings aren’t sated Sunday, you won’t have to wait even a week for the return of Fairfax City’s Chocolate Lover’s Festival, which will be held Friday, Feb. 3, through Sunday, Feb. 4.

Photo via American Heritage Chocolate/Unsplash

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