D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
February 2012
Arts Exposure
Go Wonka-y at Chocolate Fantasia
Annual Silver City arts benefit, Feb. 11, takes on a "Willy Wonka" theme.
Chocolate is supposed to be good for everything from your arteries to your brain, and in Silver City it's also good for the arts. That's because the annual pre-Valentine's Chocolate Fantasia celebration benefits the town's award-winning Mimbres Region Arts Council.
This year's Chocolate Fantasia starts at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, and will last until 4 p.m. Chocolate Stop maps and empty Valentine boxes ($2 each for collecting your chocolates) will be available at Chocolate Fantasia Headquarters at the Silco Theater on Bullard Street.
Local chocolatiers create the gourmet chocolates available at each of the 30 participating Chocolate Stops, which include many downtown galleries as well as other shops. A $20 Sampling Ticket allows you to choose a gourmet chocolate from 20 of the 30 different stops.
During the day the chocolates are judged and awards will be given out at 4:30 p.m. at Isaac's Restaurant, corner of Bullard and Broadway.
Extra fun this year will include live music, Valentine Roller Derby girls giving out kisses, and "Willy Wonka" characters greeting visitors. Buck Burns of Manzanita Ridge will portray Willy Wonka this year and actors from The Virus Theater will plays his official Oompa Loompas. They will also sell chocolate bars with a chance to win "Golden Tickets" inspired by the Roald Dahl story and movie adaptations.
You can also get in on the Wonka-ish fun by dressing up for an Oompa Loompa Costume Contest, open to all ages. Registration will be from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at sponsor Dandelion Wish, 109 N. Bullard. Prizes will be awarded for best costume.
Or you can visit the "Chocolate Factory" at the Lion's Den, where little Oompa Loompas (ages 1 to 11) are welcome for candy making and face painting from 12-3 p.m.
For more information, tickets, or to volunteer to serve chocolate at the event, call the arts council at 538-2505, or visit www.mimbresarts.org.