Calabrisella Mia

The Chocolate Festival in Cosenza took place this weekend and the sweetness factor was high on Corso Mazzini for this much anticipated fall festival.

The festival, now in its 16^th year, appeared smaller than past editions but that didn’t take away from the variety of different chocolate creations available to the large groups of spectators that flooded Cosenza’s pedestrian area, Corso Mazzini.

Like past years, the main hub of Cosenza hosted chocolatiers from all over.

ChocoPassion once again drew crowds for their adorable high-heeled chocolate shoes. Everyone that passed by, including myself, just had to snap a pic of these unique and well-made chocolate delights.

They also added some new creations – these colourful children TV show characters. The detail on them is unreal!

The Sicilan stand was back with their mesmerizing demonstration of how they prepare Torrone Siciliane (aka Croccante aka Cubbiata aka irresistible!). You can check out the video I took last year here!

And they also stepped it up by offering up chocolate covered apples! I had to pick one up – hey, it’s fruit, right?!

This stand, from France, was one of the first stands we stopped at and when the girl behind the stand handed me a sample, it was the end. I wish I had written down what they were called, but inside these chocolate cups was something like marshmallow, only not as sweet.  My friend and I picked up two different flavors and they were both amazing!

Kennedy Caffe, one of Corso Mazzini’s well-known cafes, presented a large offering of their always delicious desserts. But, this year, they added some new treats – I hope they become a permanent edition on their dessert shelves.

I made sure that I didn’t break tradition and stopped at Dolce Napoleone to grab my annual bag of goodies.  It was so hard to chose from the selection they had – I mean the bag is only so big. There were also some new flavors, which I made sure to pick up to try!

Some other new and cute chocolate treats that had children begging their parents to buy them one.

And how awesome are these Halloween treats!?

Along the way there were local dance groups, musicians and other organizations putting on performances.

And that wraps up another year of the Festa del Cioccolato in Cosenza.  Let’s hope the sugar rush stays with us until next year!