When Tampa's MOSI transforms into a wondrous educational-meets-hands-on tasting paradise at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the fifth annual Festival of Chocolate, regionites will be treated to artful confections, a chocolate-themed contests and the Cocoa Couture and Junior Cocoa Couture fashion shows.
Access to the event comes with museum admission, which costs $10 for members and $19 to $23 for non-members per day. Those who purchase advanced tickets will receive $2 in "chocolate chip coins," the festival's only form of currency.
Themed "Growing up Chocolate," the two-day fest will feature booths with the region's top chocolate-makers and confectionaries that craft everything from truffles to cupcakes to ice cream. Chocolate barbecue sauce and meat rubs will also be hand for those who prefer savory to sweet, as well as samples of chocolate wines, brews and floats.
Alongside the tastes, festgoers will watch live chocolate competitions and learn about the science behind sweets during interactive workshops that showcase the powers of liquid nitrogen and more. Demonstrations, led by award-winning pastry chefs and chocolatiers, will also touch on topics like chocolate's origins and differences.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2015.