Five golden tickets for one good cause

In the entrance to the Glass Pavilion, the wafting scent of chocolate was undeniable. With tables filled with chocolate samples and delicacies, it was evident that the Center for Social Concern's annual Chocolate Festival was in full swing.

Every year, the CSC, the umbrella organization for over 50 volunteer groups on campus, hosts the Chocolate Festival in order to raise money for specific non-profit projects run by the individual groups. The goal is for the money to go back to the Baltimore community, sponsoring programs that will enhance the Baltimore neighborhoods.

The Chocolate Festival seemed like a natural choice, according to sophomore Tiffany Chen, the lead organizer for this year's festival. "Everyone likes chocolate and we wanted a fundraiser that no one has ever really tried before." This is the third year that the CSC has hosted the Chocolate Festival.

Even so, the Chocolate Festival committee members spent the last three months looking for vendors all over the Baltimore and Maryland area, plus a few from D.C. and Virginia. These vendors included everything from large companies such as Godiva and Lindt to small, neighborhood-based operations such as Truffles By Emily and Edelweiss Bakery and Caf8e.

Upon entering the festival with a $5 donation, students got five tickets to sample any of the chocolate or participate in activities such as "Name that Chocolate," building your own chocolate house, or guessing the number of M&Ms in a jar. Many students especially enjoyed the chocolate fondue fountain. Vendors, although they attend the Festival and offer samples for free, hope that students will remember them and buy their products.

Many of the vendors were Chocolate Festival veterans, and consider it a great venue to show off what their businesses are all about -- that is, aside from chocolate.

For Maria Gruzynski, the representative from Whole Foods, it was her second time at the Festival. "This is a great event for me to come and be different than everyone else. At Whole Foods, we're about great taste and being healthy. It sets me apart," she said. With a table filled with pamphlets on healthy eating and featuring carob treats in addition to chocolate with spirulina, Gruzynski certainly had one of the most unusual stands.

Another of the more exciting vendors was Donna Calloway, founder of the local ice cream shop Dominion Ice Cream, located on the corner of 32nd and St. Paul Streets. Priding her business on its creativity, Calloway offered samples of ice cream flavors such as sweet potato or spinach. Although skeptical at first, most tasters found the "varieties," (as Calloway calls them) unexpectedly delicious. Made from fresh, raw vegetables, these milk-based ice creams have lots of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

According to Calloway, she created Dominion Ice Cream to address two issues: first encouraging healthy eating in children, and second, helping to end the problem of obesity in America. With only 99 calories per scoop, this ice cream is definitely a healthier option for a warm summer day. With Cold Stone about to move in across the street, Calloway said she isn't worried. "I welcome Cold Stone. I'll let them do what they do best

and I'll do what I do. They offer something completely different. There is an audience for healthier ice cream and that's who I'm addressing."

Student volunteers, clad in chocolate brown T-shirts, helped all of the vendors man their tables. Most volunteers are members of the organizations covered by the CSC. Sophomore Xela Smith is one of the co-directors of the Conservation Society. She was manning the raffle table, where students could exchange a ticket for the opportunity to win a pound of homemade chocolate. "This is the most unpopular table because we don't actually give out chocolate," she said, laughing.

Despite sitting by herself, Smith is happy to help out. "This event is a great idea and it definitely draws a crowd," she said. Smith explained that because the Conservation Society is a small group and doesn't get a lot of funding, the Festival is a great opportunity for the Society to get the funds that it needs.

Freshman Ram97n Taylor, a member of Cooking 4 Love, helped to sell baked goods. He figured that cooking and baking went well together, mentioning "real meals and sweet teeth," as a reason for him to offer his expertise to the organization.

This year, the Chocolate Festival managed to raise around $2,000 in cash, and the J-Cash is still being counted. Attendance, according to Chen, was about the same as last year, although students said that quality of the assorted activities was better than usual, and the Festival seemed more fun than in past years. Applications for money were available at the Festival, and they are due by April 9.

With lots of chocolate, prizes and fun activities, the Festival was a rousing success, leaving students with whetted appetites for next year's Chocolate Festival.