Moncton hot chocolate festival aims to help local businesses in slow winter months

Fifteen cafés, bistros and bars in Moncton and southeast New Brunswick are offering unique hot chocolate recipes from Sunday through the end of the month, with customers voting for their favourite. Fifty cents from each hot chocolate sale will be donated to Ability New Brunswick.

The hot chocolate festival starts Sunday and runs until the end of the month across Moncton and southeast New Brunswick. Fifteen cafés, bistros and bars are taking part by adding unique hot chocolate recipes to their menus and asking customers to vote for favourites. The event was launched three years ago to help local businesses through slower winter months. For every hot chocolate sold, organizers will donate 50 cents to Ability New Brunswick. Key details: - The festival includes 15 participating cafés, bistros and bars in Moncton and southeast New Brunswick. - The event runs from Sunday until the end of the month and invites customers to vote for their favourite hot chocolate. - Dandelion Café, a family-owned business that opened about a year ago, is participating with a honeycomb hot chocolate made with dark chocolate, whipped cream and honey. - Organizer Amber Richards said she created the festival because hot chocolate is an affordable, inclusive specialty drink and can help bring customers to small businesses. - Last year an estimated 3,200 hot chocolates were purchased by customers; Richards hopes for about 5,000 this year, and one business reported a 227 per cent sales increase year-over-year. Summary: The festival is intended to increase foot traffic for local food and drink businesses and to raise funds for Ability New Brunswick. The event runs through the end of the month and organizers are aiming for higher participation and sales compared with last year.