The first annual Chocolate Festival will raise awareness of women’s health issues while also giving students, faculty and staff members the opportunity to satisfy their sweet tooth by sampling different kinds of chocolate.
The event, hosted by the University of Alabama Women’s Resource Center and Tuscaloosa’s One Place, is this Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the University Recreation Center.
Cyndi Hamner, administrative secretary at the WRC and the woman behind the festival, said she got the idea from another health center.
“We went to a Southeastern Women’s Center at Virginia Tech, and some of the students were hosting a chocolate festival to raise awareness about breast cancer and other health issues,” Hamner said.
Tickets for the event are available for $7 online at the WRC’s website, wrc.ua.edu. Students who want to pay at the door will be charged $8, and only 250 tickets will be sold.
The tickets will grant the participant five samples of chocolate. Vendors from multiple locations in Tuscaloosa will have booths at the festival.
The list of businesses includes Crimson Café, Jason’s Deli, Sam’s Club, Zoe’s, Sweet Temptations, Celebrations Bakery, Starbucks, Madeline’s, Coldstone Creamery, Full Moon BBQ, Events Catering and Nutshop.
Sheena Quizon, assistant director of nutrition education and health services for the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness, will also talk about the nutritional side of chocolate at the festival.
Paired with the sweet samples at each booth will be a small educational component on a specific women’s health issue.
Some businesses and issues are paired together for a specific reason. The owner of Madeline’s, for instance, requested that breast cancer be that booth’s issue because of a friend who battled the illness.
Puneet Gill, the education and programming coordinator and graduate student helping with the event, said the WRC will split the proceeds from the benefit with Tuscaloosa’s One Place.
“We have a variety of different events we do at the WRC that are non-profit driven, and we are constantly looking for ways to fund them,” Gill said.
As for specific purposes for the money, the WRC is not yet sure how the funds will be put to use.
Tuscaloosa’s One Place, started in 1998, is a family resource center that has helped in relief efforts following the April 27 tornado. The mission of the center is to promote self-sufficiency, strengthen families, and prevent child abuse and neglect, according to their website.
“Many storm victims still need help, and the Tuscaloosa community needs to be more aware of women’s health issues, so it’s a worthy cause,” Hamner said.
For more information on the Chocolate Festival, visit the WRC Facebook page or the WRC website. Those interested in attending can purchase tickets to the event on uaferguson.tix.com.
