More than 25 businesses in Downtown Brookings are set to participate in the city’s “first ever Chocolate Crawl event” Saturday, Feb. 17. 

Kirsten Gjesdal, director of Downtown Brookings and owner of The Carrot Seed Kitchen Co., has been working to coordinate the Chocolate Crawl which is “part of a larger city wide event called Frost Fest,” Gjesdal said.

The plan for the event is that each business participating will serve a treat of some kind. 

“My only request was that it has something to do with chocolate,” said Gjesdal.

Some businesses will hand out free samples of something they sell in the store, some are baking treats and some places that already serve food will have a unique chocolate item on the menu, Gjesdal said. 

“It is up to the business if they will charge for the treat, or if it will be free,” said Gjesdal.

Each business has full creative freedom in what they serve.

 “I estimate that about 75% of businesses participating will be handing out free samples,” Gjesdal said. 

The event will tentatively take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “But it depends on the individual business’ hours. They can serve the treats as late as they are open if they choose,” said Gjesdal.

Some treats visitors can look forward to are the Cubby’s Cow Cow Tippah Chocolate Stout from Remedy Brewing & Hot Chocolate Cocktails; Kool Beans chocolate covered espresso beans; George’s Pizza Chocolate Oreo dessert pizza; and Cottonwood Coffee raspberry mocha.

Gjesdal anticipates a great turnout for the event, “depending on the weather, but the forecast is looking good.” Gjesdal said. “Thousands of people come downtown every Saturday,”

The timing of the event is no coincidence. Gjesdal thought a Chocolate Crawl would be the perfect event to do right around Valentine’s Day.

“The Carrot Seed will be sampling bites of the chocolate bars we carry in-store,” said Gjesdal.  “We’ll have at least three varieties out to taste at a time.” 

“We will include flavors like peanut butter cup dark chocolate, s’mores, key lime white chocolate, fudge brownie, toffee brittle, cookies & cream and malted milkshake,” Gjesdal said. “I’m not sure how many candy bars we’ll go through but we’re ready for a big crowd!” 

Chelsea Lang, owner of Socialight Boutique, commented on the event mentioning that she has participated in Sip and Shops before, but she is excited about the first-ever Chocolate Crawl.

“I plan to bake a chocolate gluten-free mini cupcake, probably with chocolate frosting and baby pink sprinkles, or something to match my store’s vibe,” said Lang.

“It’s a weekend in February, so I would say it would be pretty busy, I will probably estimate around 150 cupcakes,” said Lang.

Lang encourages everyone to come to the event, “Some college students probably don’t know all the businesses downtown, it’s a great chance to see what all the businesses have to offer,” said Lang.

The Chocolate Crawl is a unique event and gives the town something to do during the winter. All ages can enjoy some chocolate this Saturday.