This CT town has a chocolate festival. Think chocolate samples, chocolate menu items, chocolate joy

The Festival also features live, local musicians, free chocolate treats at various locations, activities by local businesses, a window-decorating contest, and more.

Ruth Hartunian-Alumbaugh loves her Connecticut town, loves her neighbors, and she loves the annual chocolate festival.

Yes, a town with its own chocolate festival.

“It’s like a big block party on Main Street,” she said, of the Romantic Willimantic Chocolate Festival.

For most of the 18 years that the festival has run (this year marks the 18th annual), Hartunian-Alumbaugh has been involved with the chocolate-cake-baking contest. This year she is coordinating the contest, and looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with.

Last year’s winning submission was a multi-layered cake created by Matthew Miller, with a frog perched on top and an embedded screen featuring iconic images of Willimantic.

This year the contest has a number of entries pre-registered, but Hartunian-Alumbaugh would like to see more.

“I would like to see more children and young adults registering,” she said, noting that she had one child pre-registered at press time.

Pre-registration ended on February 5, but “It’s not too late to bake,” said Hartunian Alumbaugh.

Folks wishing to enter the contest may drop off their entries, with a $10 entry fee, between 9 and 10 a.m. on festival day, Saturday, Feb. 10. Participants should also bring an ingredient list for food-allergy purposes. The contest takes place at Trigo Wood Fired Pizza at 744 Main St.

The contest closes between 10 a.m. and noon to allow judges to judge. At noon folks are welcome to return to bid on cakes, view the entries, and find out the winner at 2 p.m.

Hartunian-Alumbaugh said that there will also be a business owner who is starting up a cottage industry in chocolate and baking, who will be handing out samples at 12 p.m. This is just one example of the ways that the Chocolate Festival benefits local businesses.

“Businesses open their doors and offer everything from chocolate samples, to talks about chocolate, to chocolate menu items,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for the businesses to have a lot of foot traffic.”

One local business owner who goes all-in for the annual festival is Gay Touma from Jewels Verne Jewelers.

“I make all my own chocolate desserts that I hand out to all of my loyal customers,” said Touma, noting that she includes gluten-free and vegan selections. This year she will be featuring 14 different recipes.

Touma expects, as usual, a large crowd.

“It’s absolutely packed in here no matter what the weather,” she said. And for this year’s festival, the weather is expected to be spectacular.

Touma said that the festival brings folks from all over Connecticut and beyond, including states such as Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.

“It’s a nice way to introduce our little town to other areas,” she said.

Jewels Verne Jewelers will be featuring a sale during this year’s Festival.

“A lot of what we have is handmade by local artists,” said Touma. The shop also features Native American items.

Another local business that will be busy during the festival is the Willimantic Food Co-op, located at 91 Valley St.

As usual, the Co-op will be celebrating its birthday during the festival. This year, folks have signed up to provide 44 cakes to mark the business’ 44th birthday.

Co-op employees will be giving out slices of cake, and visitors will also be able to pick up free samples provided by many vendors. Co-op members will also receive a 10 percent coupon.

“It’s usually one of the busiest days of the year for us,” said Jessie Bance, from the Wellness Department at the Co-op.

The festival “Is a great event for the whole town,” noted Bance. “I think there’s a lot of foot traffic throughout the town.”

“Chocolate seems to make everybody happy, and the festival brings the community together,” said Co-op General Manager, Patty Smith.

The 2024 Romantic Willimantic Chocolate Festival begins with the Cupid Made Me Do It Urban Scramble Road Race. The two-mile walk or run allows online registration until 4 p.m. on February 9. Race Day registration and packet pick-up will open at 8:30 a.m., and the race begins at 10 a.m. Registration and packet pick-up will take place at the First Baptist Church, 667 Main St, Willimantic. There is parking in the municipal lot next to the church.

The Festival also features live, local musicians, free chocolate treats at various locations, activities hosted by local businesses, a window-decorating contest, and more. Look up the Festival on Facebook for more information. The annual Taste2Towns will also be going on during the Festival, with restaurants in both Willimantic and Mansfield offering specials.

Later in the day, Windham Theatre Guild at 779 Main St., will have a production of Steel Magnolias, beginning at 7:30 p.m. For more information go to windhamtheatreguild.org.

There is also a Valentine’s Dinner Dance being held at the Eastern Connecticut Veterans Community Center at 47 Crescent Street. The dance takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. Purchase tickets at the Center or online at AmericaMuseum.org.

“Make Willimantic a destination on Saturday,” said Hartunian-Alumbaugh. “You could spend your whole day in Willimantic.”

The 2024 Romantic Willimantic Chocolate Festival takes place on Saturday, Feb. 10 at various locations throughout Willimantic.