Fairchild, known as a premier conservation and education-based botanical garden, is home to the only tropical rainforest in the continental U.S. With 17 years of sweet history, the annual event's purpose is much more meaningful than simply showcasing chocolate — its main purpose is to teach generations about what it takes for a small cacao flower to become our favorite sweet treat.
"Chocolate is probably the most universal medium there is," says Charity Hill, event organizer from Epic Entertainment Group. "It crosses every demographic so the event is perfect for multigenerational families or dates. When making the programming we take an approach that is educational while also entertaining to go along with the mission at the Garden”
The two-day event offers many activities, including a food and retail marketplace, live music, lawn games, face painting, and a bubble dance party. But the highlight is the chocolate events. More than 15 chocolatiers will be present in the House of Chocolate including Club Chokolate, Omg Brigadeiros, Key West Sweets, and Cao Chocolates.
Guests can buy chocolate from various vendors at The Chocolate House.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden photo
If sack racing isn't quite your thing, there are plenty of other fun chocolate activities. At the festival's Chocolate Lab, you can enter the Sweetbar Studio for $13 and create your own chocolate bar from scratch. Or, join in on the $29 Wine and Cupcakes experience, a fun wine pairing experience with tastings of red, white, and sparkling wines paired with three cupcakes.
"One of my favorite things this year will be the chocolate-making experience," says Hill. "Being able to work with chocolate while learning about cacao and its history in the setting of the garden — there are very few experiences like that. You know, a lot of people don't even realize where chocolate comes from. And I think being able to tell that story in a compelling way will draw our guests and our families back for generations."
The Cocoa Lounge will be open for adults to enjoy a bourbon and chocolate tasting for $29 with Kakaozon chocolate paired with three different types of bourbon. A mini chocolate cocktail flight, also $29, will include a Mudslide Martini, a White Chocolate Strawberry Martini, and an Espresso Martini.
Nannette Zapata, Deputy Director at Fairchild, says in the festival's 17 years, the Garden has grown along with its chocolate culinary experience and learned new ways to highlight its importance to attendees.
"We are trying to educate as many people as possible about the ecology of the rainforest in general, which is where cacao grows," says Zapata. "We do a bean-to-bar storytelling experience, and I think that makes a flat piece of chocolate bar more dimensional. It gives us a lot more flavor, no pun intended."
The core of the institution is to educate and create more awareness about the habitat, which is why other famous events hosted by Fairchild include the Mango and Orchid Festivals. All interactive activities during the Chocolate Festival are centered around showing attendees the history of cacao.
"We have a chocolate trail so you can see it," says Zapata. "You can walk the rainforest and go into our laboratories, you can go into a butterfly house, you can play in the children's garden, and all of those physical exhibits within the garden are infused with chocolate."
A Festival of Chocolate. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, January 20, through Sunday, January 21, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Miami; fairchildgarden.org. Tickets cost $11.95 to $24.95; children 5 and under are free.
