This past weekend was the Long Grove Chocolate Festival. I hadn’t been in years; however thought I would run through and see if it looked fun. I ended up calling my husband, he met us and we stayed most of the day and into the evening!

Don’t let the empty field for parking fool you into thinking that no one joined me at the event. It was pleasantly crowded. I say it that way since there were many people there; however still quite a bit of room to move around and enjoy. AND Long Grove did a fantastic job with the shuttle buses so people didn’t have to walk far distances to their cars.

Long Grove is absolutely beautiful this time of year. The tulips were in FULL bloom; simply breathtaking. I saw quite a few photographers (amateur and professional) snapping photos of the colorful blooms.

The streets were lined with cars right up to the main entrance and then, it turned into outdoor tents with yummy treats to sample! There were too many tasty items to document here; however here’s a few to tickle your taste buds…chocolate dipped strawberries, melted chocolate dripped over popcorn (for the salty and sweet lovers), chocolate donuts and dipping sauces. I felt like Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; I wanted to dive into the chocolate wherever I could!


And then, if you thought that chocolate wasn’t enough for you (huh? I don’t get that), there was live entertainment throughout the day in three different locations in the village. The variety of music was incredible! Speaking of variety, there was quite a bit of it in food and beverages too. From Bob Chinn’s garlic shrimp and Mai Tais to Jamba Juice fruit smoothies to carnival style yummy lemonade, corn dogs, cheddars curds and corn on the cob! I found myself grazing the whole day and it was a blast!

Now on to the kid’s activities…there were so many things for the younger set to get excited about; a fantastic balloon artist, face painting, a magician, a snow cone station (wish I had that when I was little), train rides, merry-go-round and even pony rides. I think Maggie was in heaven!




This was an event for all ages. People were out enjoying the weather and enjoying the well-planned event. I decided to mark my calendar with the rest of the festivals coming up: Strawberry Fest June 26-27-28, Greek Days August 1-2, Wine Dine & Art Fest August 15-16, Irish Days September 5-6-7, Apple Fest October 2-3-4 and the holiday festivities between November 15 – January 1, 2010. Worth it…very worth it!

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