Harvard Square Chocolate Festival

Who doesn’t love free chocolate? The Harvard Square Chocolate Festival is an annual tradition (now in its 8^th year) and occurs over one weekend in late January. The festival culminates in a one-​hour free chocolate tasting event that is held in Brattle Square, usually from 1−2pm on a Saturday.
I attended the one-​hour tasting today, and it was fantastic! The lines start to form around 12:30pm, so getting there early is a must. Also note that the event is outside, so dress warmly since you will probably be standing in line in the cold for 30 minutes to an hour. Once the line starts moving, it goes fast. The event features a lot of local businesses like J.P. Licks, Ben and Jerry’s, Crema Café, and so on, and you basically pick up a plate and then move along the line to different tents in order to grab free samples.
Some of the goodies that I got today were:
— cup of hot chocolate from Shake Shack
— scoop of chocolate ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s
— scoop of chocolate ice cream from J.P. Licks
— mini chocolate covered cannoli from Toscano (delicious! My favorite item)
— chili chocolate mini cupcake from Crema Café
— Chocolate chip cookie from UNO’s
— Bite-​sized portion of chocoalte cake from Wagamama
— Chocolate square with a dab of honey from Follow the Honey
— Sponge cake from El Jefe’s
— Fudge from Cabot Candy
Most of the vendors also have free coupons and discounts that you can grab to encourage you to visit their stores. There was also a music group that was playing, and it contributed to the festive atmosphere of the event. Overall, I was very happy with the event — I just wish it could happen during the summer when it isn’t so cold to stand outside!