Hot Chocolate Festival Celebrates 15 Years of Decadence
When it was conceived in 2010, the Hot Chocolate Festival was the first and only city-wide initiative of its kind in the world. Many have copied the festival, but no city did it better than Metro Vancouver, and now it’s expanded to 10 different regions in BC. Starting January 18th visit the best chocolatiers, pastry shops, bakeries, cafes, gelato and ice cream makers who are all coming together to make the humble hot chocolate hotter than it has ever been before.
The Hot Chocolate Festivals motto is: “Chocolate Makes You Happy!”
Hot Chocolate Festival – What’s New for 2024
*This year marks their 15th season.
*81 participating vendors presenting 180 flavours at 124 locations
*16 new vendors and vendor partnerships including a brewery, a rabbit rescue sanctuary and a late night cafe/bar in Chinatown.
*The festival is expanding geographically as well with more participating vendors in Whistler, Squamish, the North Shore, Langley, New Westminster, Burnaby and Tri-Cities.
*$2,000 in prizes to be awarded via the Festival’s Instagram Photo Contest and surprise pop-up contests on our Instagram page.
An updated website at www.cityfood.com will have the following new features:
1) A search filter that will allow viewers to pre-sort vendors as to location, hours, if this is their first year of participation, and whether or not they will be offering dietary considerations such as vegan, dairy-free or gluten-friendly options. These options are for the combo (the drink as well as the side goodie).
2) A listing of flavours by number. No more having to open each vendor description to read what flavours they will be offering. (Numbers are assigned alphabetically by vendor name.)
3) A listing of hot chocolate events taking place throughout the region during the Festival dates, whether they are part of the Festival or not.
4) A banner on the home page to highlight new features and events as they are added during the Festival.
* A custom-built, downloadable app. (May be added after Festival launch.)
Yes, this is coming later this year but a download will be available from the website next season.
* 13 new small and local charities to benefit from festival proceeds. All are favourite charities of our vendors. (Fresh to Families and Growing Chefs will remain as the two official charity partners of the Festival. )
* Most unusual flavours include: smoke bubbles, masala wine, Japanese whiskey, fried chicken, durian fruit, Gochujang, watermelon, red wine reduction, salted duck egg foam, hibiscus flower, organic rhubarb, ricotta cheese, Persian saffron, kelp, mezcal, caramel corn, balsamic vinegar, butternut squash, Vegemite, toasted buckwheat, Carolina Reaper pepper, Chinese 5-spice, grape foam, sourdough bread and apricots.
* Drinks this year were inspired by: The Witches from ‘Wicked’, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, Vietnam, Tinkerbell, scary blind dates, Carmen Miranda, Betty Grable, beekeepers, the BC forest, Kylie Filipino cookies, Pink Smash Bros characters, Australian chocolate bars, the Pacific Ocean, Bananas in Pajamas, oversize bulky sweaters, Kiki’s Delivery Service, frogs and mermaids, among others.
Hot Chocolate Festival Best Drink Names
#51 – “Tink’s Pistachio Pixie Dust”
#57 – “Blondes Have More Crumb”
#62 – “How to Lick a Beekeeper”
#63 – “My Mother Disapproves of this Drink”
#85 – “You’re Bacon Me Crazy”
#103 – “Last Kiss at the Airport”
