Going to the Chocolate Festival!

Does the sound of chocolate peak your interest? If so, tune in!

Photo Credits: Miami Mom Collective

Once a year, in Florida, Fairchild’s Tropical Botanical Garden holds a special event that lasts over a weekend. In 2024, this event lasted from January 20th – 21st. This event was was a chocolate festival🍫!

The sound of chocolate, already had the bells in my ears ringing, but on top of that, a FESTIVAL? At a botanical garden? You know I had to go. So let me tell you how it went!

Photo Credits: Miami New Times

Not only do I love chocolate, but I also really like gardens, to which Fairchild has a large variety of. But, we’ll talk more about that in another blog, because this one, is all about the chocolate!

Just so you know, in case your interested in next year’s Chocolate Festival, these were the price ranges for all the tickets: Keep in mind, by next year, the prices may vary.

Ticket Options

Adult: $24.95
Senior: $17.95
Child (6-17) $11.95

Also keep in mind that there are discounts for students!

The Events

The Chocolate Festival had a ton of events to participate in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join them all, but I’ll still let you know about what types of events there were. So let’s get on with the list!

The Chocolate Lab:

The chocolate lab is a place were attendants can sit back, and participate in programs that not only teaches them about certain chocolates, but also engages with the audience using interactive actives. In total the Chocolate Lab had 3 events, with 1 out of the 3 repeating twice a day. These events were “Wine & Cupcakes“, “Sweetbar Studio“, and “Chocolate and Skincare“.

The event I joined was the “Chocolate and Skincare” activity, where we learned from an experienced masseuse, the benefits that chocolate has for the skin and body! In this activity, the facilitator gave each participant a body cream that we’d massage into our hands. This cream was very soft and had the sweet, dense smell of chocolatey goodness!

The other events “Wine & Cupcakes” and “Sweetbar Studio” sounded like great events to join. I WISHED I was able to join them, but, I arrived too late at the festival to partake in the events. Nonetheless, in the “Wine & Cupcakes” event, a careful array of cupcakes and wine is selected for the participants and together with come chocolatiers, you experience the blends of chocolate, wine and cupcakes together! Sounds yummy! In this event, you must be 21 or older to participate. Where as the “Sweetbar Studio” you get to become a chocolatier for the day, and work side-by-side with experts in the field of chocolate!

Photo Credits: Fairchild’s Botanical Garden Website

House of Chocolate:

The best part about this festival, HAS to be about the House of Chocolate. In the house of chocolate there is a plethora of vendors selling their specialty chocolate delights.

You know of course, I had to buy a few😅.

In the House of Chocolate, there was even an event in which you’d be able to make your own chocolate bars!!! And after waiting in a long line, I found out that they had run out of supplies to create more custom chocolate, which was unfortunate🥲.

The place, I will say, was super packed. Like shoulder to shoulder, which did ruin the pleasant atmosphere in my opinion. But nonetheless, I thought seeing all the vendors and their chocolate was super cool! Just take a look below:

Photo credits: Miami News Times and Miami Herald

Cocoa Lounge

Another place that I really wanted to try, but was too shy to participate, was the Cocoa Lounge. In the Cocoa Lounge, attendants can indulge in the sophisticated art of drinks crafted by skillful bartenders. At this lounge you can experience the yummy flavors of chocolaty bourbon cocktails and partake in chocolate tasting delights.

Photo Credits: Fairchild’s Botanical Garden Website

The Market Place

Another place the caught my interests at the Chocolate Festival, was the market place! There were a variety of vendors selling assortments of all things. One of these being chocolate, of course, but what we particularly bought from the market place, was a can of honey. And lots, and I mean LOTS of food. The food was full of flavor, and wonderful to eat as you enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the botanical garden.