Open Call for Participation: The First All-Americas Craft Chocolate Festival

The First All-Americas Craft Chocolate Festival in being held in NYC on Friday and Saturday September 23rd and 24th, 2011.

Held in conjunction with Get Real NY's All-American Craft Beer & Food Fest, the Craft Chocolate Festival's mission is to highlight and promote all of the exciting work being done by craft chocolate makers anywhere in the Americas (USA, Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America).

This year, the flavor "theme" of the Beer Fest's homebrew competition will be cocoa.

There will be five tasting sessions during the two day festival, two on Friday and three on Saturday. In addition to sampling chocolates matched with the beers being served, a demonstration of making chocolate, from the bean, will be operated continuously during the festival.

The tasting session on Saturday morning will feature guided pairings of craft chocolate, craft beer, cheese, bacon, hot chocolate, and more.

There are several ways craft chocolate makers can participate:

1. Provide samples for tasting. Festival organizers will be organizing tasting tables during each session. Send us samples and literature and we will distribute them both for you. (Approximately 600 people are expected at each of the four main tasting sessions.)
2. Provide chocolate for sale. You provide the chocolate (on consignment at wholesale) and we'll sell it during the festival and through TheChocolateLife during and after the Fest through the 2011 holiday season).
3. Visit New York during the festival and give one of the four "Meet The Chocolate Maker" seminars (one during each of the four main sessions). You can also man the table during the session(s) your chocolate is sampled. Your presence at the festival will be promoted in festival advertising and signage.
4. Become an event sponsor. Your company name will be promoted in advertising, signage, and more before and during the Festival. You don't have to be a craft chocolate maker to become an event sponsor. Do you make and sell equipment, services, or ingredients that craft chocolate makers use? Then consider being a sponsor.

If you are interested in participating in any of the four ways mentioned above (or some other way that's not mentioned), get in touch with Clay Gordon at claygordon (at) thechocolatelife (dot) com for more information and details.

Watching this page and visit the Fest's listing page here on TheChocolateLife for updates and more about this exciting first-of-its-kind Festival.