The 2013 Lititz Chocolate Walk

The husband/lover/toter of chocolate and I, along with 1998 other ticket holders, attended the 2013 Lititz Chocolate Walk yesterday.  In its 12th year, this delicious event is a fun chocolate-for-charity walk around one of Pennsylvania's most beautiful small towns.

Corporate sponsors help underwrite the expenses of the Lititz Chocolate Walk event, contributing to the success of this annual community fund raising event.  All proceeds benefit children's charities supported by Kiwanis including Schreiber Pediatric Center, children's libraries, and other youth programs.

More than 30 small businesses and establishments participated in the event, and each one offered some sort of chocolate treat to each ticket holder.  From small chocolate covered cherry "mice" to large chocolate donuts and paninis, the treats were all decadent and delicious.

Buy a ticket, take a walk, eat lots of chocolate, help children.  I just love it.

This is a well organized event.  Each of the 2000 participants wears an identification pin, has a numbered map of the 30 participating locations, and has a card with 30 spaces marked on it.

 At each participating business, a community volunteer marks the number on your card corresponding to that business's number on the route.  Then you can shop a bit, or simply pass by the chocolate table, collect your chocolate item, and move on to the next location on the chocolate walk.

It is obvious by looking at the crowds who has done this chocolate walk before.  Those folks (that would be me) carry small coolers or lunch bags, and one guy even had a drag along ice chest.

It's also clear who are the first timers.  You see them eating every chocolate item as they get it.  Thirty chocolate items later, well you can do the math.....

Perhaps my favorite stop on the Chocolate Walk is #20, the Julius Sturgis Pretzel House.  It could have something to do with the fact that Julius Sturgis was my great great grandfather, and in 1861 established the first commercial pretzel bakery in America.

Or, it could just be that the chocolate covered pretzels given there are awesome.  There was a choice of dark or milk chocolate covered, peanut butter or caramel covered pretzels.  That's a rough decision, and one of these tasty morsels is certainly not enough.

 This little guy was there at the pretzel house entrance to greet the Chocolate walkers:

               

Those are pretzels in his pocket, of course.

The chocolate delicacies along the route were often unique.  Since Wilbur Chocolates is located in Lititz, one shop appropriately offered these tiny chocolate covered cherry mice.  The heads are made of Wilbur Chocolate buds.

Along with chocolate treats for the humans, the local pet supply store even offered treats for the puppies.  Not chocolate, of course.  Lititz is a very pet friendly town, and many shops had water bowls out front for the dogs.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to eat loads of chocolate do my noble deed and help the children's hospital and other children's organizations.

Good times with family and friends, and good chocolates.

A win-win for all.