January 11, 2022 (Santa Ana, California) – Bowers Museum is pleased to release details on the fourth annual International Chocolate Festival, comprised of one delicious weekend of events on Saturday and Sunday, February 4 and 5. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, this festival will include a full day of programming: from lectures to tastings, performances and more – both onsite and online.

The International Chocolate Festival will be hosted by Bowers in partnership with UCLA Lecturer and ‘California’s Chocolate Guru,’ Dr. Lee Scott Theisen @chocolate_guru, and feature premiere chocolate- makers from around the world.

This event is held in conjunction with Bowers Museums’ monthly Free Family Festival series, generously sponsored by the Nicholas Endowment and an anonymous donor. A free recording of highlights from the Free Family Festival will be livestreamed a week after the event on the Museum’s pages on Facebook and YouTube, generously made possible through a grant from Capital Group Companies.

Details and tickets now available at http://bowers.org/programs . #bowerschocolatefestival #bowersfestival

 

Schedule of Events

Saturday, February 4 | 1:30 -3 pm | John M. Lee Court

Tasting Cacao Origins from Around the World with Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Join Fresco Artisan Chocolate’s founder and chocolate-maker Rob Anderson to explore how cacao grown in different regions can produce chocolate with dramatically different flavors. Participants will taste and review 1-1.5g samples from 7 different chocolates which have collectively won a total of 24 International awards.

Ticketed Onsite Event: Member $40 | General $50 Sunday, February 5 | 11 am – 3 pm | Key Courtyard

Free Family Festival: International Festival of Chocolate

The International Chocolate Festival is free thanks to a generous grant from the Nicholas Foundation but will include select ticketed events and specialty chocolates for sale by Gourmet Chocolatiers, including Letterpress Chocolate among others. Special tastings of foods made with chocolate will be made available from different South American countries.

The festival will round out with art projects, face painting, and music and dance performances representing the rich cultures of the chocolate lands of Mexico and South America, Africa, and Indonesia.

Sunday, February 5 | 11:30 am-12:30 pm | Norma Kershaw Auditorium

Let’s Talk Chocolate: An Introduction to Fine Chocolate Tasting with Dr. Lee Scott Theisen

Join LA’s Chocolate Guru, Dr. Lee Scott Theisen, for an introduction on how to taste craft chocolate with a bit of its history.

Tickets: Free event. Free to-go tasting samples for first 50 attendees. Sunday, February 5 | 2-3 pm | Fluor Gallery.

Chocolate & Whiskey Tasting

Join LA’s Chocolate Guru, Dr. Lee Scott Theisen, and Blinking Owl Distillery’s head of tasting, Dylan Almendral, as they steer you through an indulgent tasting experience that features the Santa Ana establishment’s house-distilled whiskeys paired with craft chocolate. Chocolates will include Fu Wan (Taiwan); Guido Gobino (Italy); and Definite Chocolate (Dominican Republic).

Ticketed Onsite Event: Member $40 | General $50 Space is limited, and advanced reservations are required. This event is for ages 21+ only.