Chocolate lovers poured into St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Sunday for the first time since the pandemic was declared in 2020.
After a two-year hiatus, the small church hall was again packed with confectionery delights, for both in-house dining or to take home in to-go containers.
For about three hours, the public enjoyed picking five selections from more than 100 chocolate desserts, from peppermint chocolate cake to iced brownies to chocolate peanut-butter fudge.
All the money raised from the event will go to local church charities, particularly programs to help people in the local community overcome food insecurity, organizers said.
“This has always been a wonderful fundraiser,” said Jan Orr.
The Annual Chocolate Festival at St. Stephen’s has been around for more than 20 years. It started after the late Donna Critchfield attended a similar event in the Bay Area and thought Colusa should have one of its own.
Volunteers and church members baked all manner of tasty chocolate confections for the return of the beloved event, and those who gathered in the hall enjoyed music from Colusa County’s only working pipe organ, making the festival all the more sweeter.
“Everyone pitches in,” said Denise Carter, who organized the silent auction. “We are a small church but we get it done.” â–