Warming up with hot chocolate

• First Okanagan Hot Chocolate Fest
• Contests with prizes for winners
• Over 26 locations across the Okanagan

It’s sweet, chocolatey, and warm – perfect for Okanagan winter days.

Hot chocolate lovers can take part in the area’s first festival dedicated to the cocoa beverage over the next month, with donations going to a good cause.

The Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival created by Food Tours Kelowna kicks off on Jan. 17.

“We’re really excited. We have lots of different hot chocolate flavours and some businesses have even offered [food] pairings,” Murissa Shalapata, co-founder and tour curator, told Kelowna10 at QB Gelato.

The festival features over 26 participating locations from Penticton to Vernon, and the festival encourages donations to Mamas for Mamas. As a mother herself, Shalapata is pleased to help out the charity for the first hot chocolate festival.

“I really wanted to choose Mamas for Mamas this year because they do such incredible work through our entire community,” she said.

Donations can be made online or in-person at some of the participating locations. A few restaurants will also donate money from the hot chocolate sales to the charity.

Besides sampling the drinks, there is a colouring contest kids can enter, with a prize provided by Big White Ski Resort. For those who are social media savvy, there’s an Instagram photo contest with a variety of prizes valued at over $500. Details can be found online.

Hot cocoa connoisseurs can also vote for their favourite drink online.

Getting people out to local cafés and restaurants inspired Shalapata to start the festival, as January and February can be slower months for the food scene. Shalapata said the event is a fun way to get out in the community and enjoy a warm drink.

“That’s what we wanted to do, is get people through the door, support our local food scene,” she explained. “Make sure it’s here and continues to grow rather than decline because of the pandemic.”

The Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival runs to Feb. 14.