See the Friday Experience Details below!

Your Friday Night Chocolate Experience includes:

• Guided wine, bourbon & chocolate pairings
• Tea & chocolate pairing experience
• Find Your Chocolate Match: taste with an expert and discover which chocolate styles fit you best
• Taste freshly-made liquid chocolate, straight from the stone grinder
• Regional Bar Challenge: vote for the People's Choice Award. Taste special-edition bars from 12 makers around the world!. Each chef started with the same recipe but added an ingredient from their region. Vote for your favorite!
• Learn how you can make chocolate at home
• Meet the makers & cacao farmers behind what you are tasting

Come curious, taste something new, and spend an evening experiencing chocolate—not just eating it.

Wine & bourbon available to guests 21+. Davis Food truck on site to purchase food.

Friday VIP tickets also include free all-day Saturday access to shop your favorites!

-All proceeds from Friday VIP tickets benefit the Love Community Center-

Join us for a full day of chocolate discovery at the brand-new Love Community Center!
Explore the world of fine chocolate with 25+ vendors from the Midwest and beyond—including cacao farmers, chocolate makers, and chocolatiers.

Your entry ticket includes:

• access to all tasting tables
• free chocolate-themed speakers & classes throughout the day!

Taste your way through an incredible range of artisan chocolates
Touch a fresh cacao pod and meet the people behind the bean
Learn the secrets of chocolate making in engaging, hands-on sessions
Kid-friendly fun! Visit the Children’s Activity Center for crafts, play, and chocolate-themed activities all day long
️ Shop your favorites and support small-batch makers from around the world

Grab an early bird ticket while they last—and come join us to experience chocolate like never before.

Friday, November 6th VIP Night, 6:00-8:00 pm
Saturday, November 7th, 9:00-5:00 pm
Love Community Center, Rushville, Indiana

Tickets Available Now - Click Here

From Farm to Flavor: Discover Where Chocolate Begins

10:00-10:45 Inside Apoy Benit’s Award-Winning Filipino Cacao Farm: A Story of Excellence, by Ronee de Guzman, Cacao, Coffee & Tea

Take a trip to the Philippines with certified chocolate educator Ronee de Guzman as he shares his visit to Apoy Benit’s award-winning cacao farm. Through his experience on the farm, Ronee will give us a closer look at how cacao is grown, the people and practices behind it, and what makes this farm stand out

11:00-11:45 Keep Growing: Adapting Old Family Farms to the New Generation by Leila Carvajal Erker, CocoaSupply

How can generations-old cacao farms continue to thrive in a changing world? Born and raised in Ecuador in a multigenerational cacao family, Leila Carvajal Erker shares how cacao families are finding new ways to build on their agricultural traditions through agritourism, innovation, and new approaches to farming.

12:00-12:45 From Our Family Farm to Our First Chocolate in El Salvador: The Tierra Bendita Story by Laura Cruz, Finca Co

What does it take to start a cacao farm? Hear firsthand from a young farmer/entrepreneur in El Salvador as she shares the challenges, surprises, and lessons of building her farm while learning to make chocolate. Then taste some of the chocolate she's been making and discover the work behind every piece.

1:00-1:45 Unwrapping the Botany of Cacao by Karla Schade, Opening Chocolate

The fruit of the Cacao tree is one of the most prominent indigenous contributions of the New World to today's global food economy. But often not much is known about the plant that it comes from. Come on a journey as we learn about this amazing plant and the miraculous steps it went through to become chocolate in your hands.

3:00-3:45 "Cocoa Ecotourism, an Under-Explored Opportunity: How Can We Leverage Technology? by Nana Aduna, Ohene Cocoa.

What happens when a cocoa farm becomes a destination as well as a place to grow cacao? Nana Aduna offers visitors a firsthand look at cocoa farming on his farm in Ghana, along with the chance to experience chocolate at its source. He’ll share how cocoa ecotourism can connect visitors more closely with farmers—and how technology could help farms like his reach more people.

9:30-10:30 Holiday Time Eats, Treats and Chocolate!

Healthy perks in traditional holiday foods?! You’re in for a surprise with culinary registered dietitian nutritionist Kim Galeaz as she shares positive nutrition perks for all your holiday season favorites - from Thanksgiving sides, pies and potatoes, to party-time cheeseballs, shrimp, dips and oh yes, all the decadent craft chocolate! Speaker: Kim Galeaz, RDN LD

10:30-11:30 The Art of Chocolate: A Hand-Painting Class

Join our truffle painting workshop! See how we create gloss, color, and design on each truffle. Learn how to hand-paint truffles at home. Speaker: Denise Steele, Lohcally Artisan Chocolates

11:30-12:30 Tasting Chocolate History: Origin of Chocolate in South and Central America

Explore chocolate and learn the history of cacao from the first archeological evidence 4,500 year ago to today. Taste how 4 different origin chocolate makers are preserving cacao. Speaker: Brook Johnson, Yahara Chocolate

12:30-1:30 The Creative Act, Bringing Out the Good Stuff

Finding a deeper well of creativity that is unique to each person and the source of deeper joy. By Susan Brown, Mademoiselle Miel (Apiarian, Artist & Chocolate Maker)

1:30-2:30 Holiday Time Eats, Treats and Chocolate!

Healthy perks in traditional holiday foods?! You’re in for a surprise with culinary registered dietitian nutritionist Kim Galeaz as she shares positive nutrition perks for all your holiday season favorites - from Thanksgiving sides, pies and potatoes, to party-time cheeseballs, shrimp, dips and oh yes, all the decadent craft chocolate! Speaker: Kim Galeaz, RDN LD

2:30-3:30 You Can Make Chocolate at Home! By Bhavani, DCM

Ever wondered if you could make your own chocolate? Bhavani from DCM will show how small tabletop chocolate grinders make it possible to turn cacao into chocolate right in your own kitchen. Learn what you need to get started, how the process works, and what you can create at home. Works for homemade nut butters, too!

PLUS: This year: SPECIAL SATURDAY EXPERIENCES

Want to do more? Add one of our special ticketed tastings with industry experts. Additional fee and advance registration required.

1) Taste Award-Winning Chocolate with an International Chocolate Judge, 11:30 am Karla from Opening Chocolate has been judging global chocolate competitions for years and will walk you through some of the considerations (and secrets) a chocolate judge makes as you sample several of this year's award-winning chocolate bars together. $20 add-on to your ticket for a personalized experience, 11:30 Saturday. (Karla also shares her chocolate knowledge on the YouTube channel, Opening Chocolate)

2) The Weirdest Chocolate You Might Actually Like - How adventurous are your taste buds? 2:30 pm Come explore the sometimes weird, always unique chocolate inclusions from around the world. Sample unexpected tastes and unique techniques in this tasting with Karla from Opening Chocolate. $20 add-on to your ticket for a personalized experience, 2:30 Saturday.

3) Hops & Nibs: A Tasting of Craft Beer-Infused Craft Chocolates 1:00 pm

Craft beer and craft chocolate belong together. Join journalist and Bean to Barstool host David Nilsen at the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival for a 75-minute guided tasting of chocolates made with beer or its ingredients.

Along the way, David will walk attendees through the ingredients and flavors of beer, with sensory examples of the actual ingredients on hand to see, smell, and touch. You'll learn about both beer and chocolate, and gain a deeper appreciation for both as we taste through these bars. You don't have to love beer to enjoy tasting these amazing chocolate creations!

(Note: No alcohol will be served during this event.)

As the host of Bean to Barstool, David has been exploring the intersections of craft chocolate and artisan drinks since 2020, and has been a food and beverage journalist and educator for a decade. At his tasting events, he makes his topics approachable, entertaining, and educational for attendees at all knowledge levels.

What's included in the ticket price:
- 5 chocolate samples during the guided event
- Sensory guidance, storytelling, and education to make these bars come to life
- Tasting sheet and informational handouts
- 20% discount coupon for David's beer & chocolate pairing book, available for sale at the festival. Join us for this unique and exciting tasting!

One ticket=one participant

If the paid class is cancelled by the instructor for any reason, ticket refunds will be issued, but Eventbrite fees cannot be refunded.

Wondering how this craft chocolate festival is different from other chocolate festivals?

This festival is not just for chocolate lovers, it's for anyone curious about the story behind chocolate, how it's grown, how it's made (and, of course, a chance to eat it!) In addition to top chocolatiers, there will be international cacao farmers and chocolate makers who are happy to share their samples and stories with you.

Where does chocolate come from?

It's not Belgium or Switzerland! We're bringing cacao farmers to you, and they can't wait to let you touch a cacao pod and show you how they grow cacao. Cacao only grows in tropical forests near the equator (plus in Hawaii and Puerto Rico), so this is a special weekend for anyone interested in learning more about the journey of the cacao bean from the tree to the chocolate bar in your hand.