Concord, CA Chocolate Festival!!!!! 3/9/08

Just when I was feeling jealous reading about these events elsewhere... I realized we are having one of our own!  The website is here.   It costs $10 and is from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday, March 9 at the Crown Plaza (45 John Glenn Drive, Concord.  There will be chocolate booths and wine booths for tasting, and also cooking demonstrations.  Sounds like a good time!

Hope to see some of my neighbors there!

Some Chocolate facts:

1) The oldest known civilization of the Americas (1500 - 400 B.C.), The Olmecs, were probably the first users of cacao.

Though few records survived, recent linguistic findings suggest the word "cacao" is derived from the word Kakawa in Mixe-Zoquean, believed to have been their language.

2) In the 17th Century, the first recorded case of "Death by Chocolate" occurred.

In San Cristobal de las Casa, in Chiapas, Mexico, upper class Spaniards were so addicted to chocolate intake that they refused a church dictated ban forbidding consumption of drink or food during Mass.

In response, the townspeople refused to uphold this edict and chose to attend worship services in Convents.

The Bishop of Chiapas, who passed the edict, was found dead due to a mixture of poison that was secretly added to his daily cup of chocolate.  Rumor has it that he passed from this world with a smile on his face.

3) In 1849 during the "Gold Rush" of San Francisco, Dominbro Ghirardelli of Italy began making chocolate. His original factory still stands at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, CA.

Chocolate facts from www.candyfavorites.com