Sacrifices made for good cause at annual Feast of Chocolate

While they couldn't agree on which item was the favorite, the visitors to the Feast of Chocolate on Saturday morning did agree on one thing.

You can never have enough chocolate.

"What's been my favorite? Everything I have eaten so far," said Diana Morrison of Incline Village.

Morrison and her husband, Jim, were part of the Tahoe Trail Trekers AVA, who incorporated the festival into a planned excursion to Carson City.

"It's all very good, it's too good. It's just something fun to do for an afternoon," Mr. Morrison said. "I would vote for the peach and blueberry chocolate squares, those were very good."

The festival, in its eighth year, is a fundraiser for the American Association of University Women Capital Branch. More than 250 people indulged their sweet tooth at the Nevada State Library and Archives on Saturday.

The event, which raised about $3,000, is one of only two fundraisers the AAUW does annually, with the second being the sale of pecans in November. Both events raise money the group gives out to women and supports the group's national foundation.

Flo Bedrosian, event co-organizer, said there was increased interest from outside of Carson City this year because of an article featured in an AAA magazine. "We had about 20 calls from people outside the state asking about it, so they could come," Bedrosian said.

Irene Capps, from Elk Grove, Calif., timed a trip to see family for this weekend so she could come for the festival.

"The truffles and the strawberry tuxedos were definitely my favorite," Capps said.

The buffet line included the brownies, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate creams, truffles, German chocolate cake, chocolate torte and the classic - chocolate chip cookies.

For the first several years, the organization made the treats themselves, but as it grew, they began hiring the Carson High School Culinary Department to make the concoctions.

This year, the culinary II class delivered 725 pieces for the event, which was supplemented by several local donors, including Grandma Hattie's and Trader Joe's.

The Nevada Reds Chapter of the Red Hat Society has made the event a tradition for their group, having come for the last five years.

"We love all the stuff from the high school, it's all very good," Red hatter Geri Miller said.

The festival also featured a raffle of items from other local businesses and harpist Wanda Perschnick of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.