The 11th Annual Colorado Chocolate Festival at the Denver Mart May 11th - 12th features more than 50,000 chocolate samples from a variety of regional and national chocolate companies. New vendors coming in from several states will be part of the mix, along with several Mother's Day Gift booths plus a full entertainment roster on the festival stage.

Activities get under way Friday evening, May 11 on our Main Stage at 5:00 pm with our Happy Hour Beer and Wine Chocolate Pairing. Then at 6:00 pm, play “Name That Chocolate”! How well do you know your brand name chocolates? Enter to win a $10 “Golden Ticket” to spend anywhere in the Festival!

Saturday morning the doors open at 10:00 am, and at 11:00 am, we’ll have free chocolate cake for Moms at our Chocolate Shop booth. The rest of the afternoon we’ve got our popular and hilarious Pudding Eating Contest, Andrew Novick's popular "Chocolate-covered WHAAAATT?" where guests get to sample a variety of unlikely chocolate-dipped treats and “The Mom Game!” where Moms answer fun, simple questions about themselves backstage then join their kid onstage to see how many right answers they can get. Each right answer gets a chocolate treat! Winning team wins 2 Golden Tickets!

Saturday's highlight is the Chocolatier Championship Awards, where a $200 cash prize for the Grand Champion truffle, will be presented onstage at 2:00 pm. Secondary truffle prizes are $100 each, and the awards for Best Fudge, Best Toffee, Best Chocolate Design and Best Open Class each come with a $100 prize. Competitions are open to all culinary professionals as well as the general public. The Chocolatier Championships are emceed by KDVR's Chris Parente.

Admission to the Colorado Chocolate Festival is only $5. Kids age 4 and under are admitted free of charge. Taste Tickets allow attendees to sample treats during the festival, and cost just $10 for 12 Taste Tickets. Taste Tickets also allow the vendors to get paid for the samples, a main reason the festival is so successful at drawing chocolatiers from around the country.

Dedicated chocolate fans also have the option to purchase VIP Tickets or "Chocolate Jury Judging Tickets." The $50 VIP option includes a VIP admission bracelet, early admission, 12 exclusive VIP Indulgence Tickets good at the dozen designated VIP vendor booths, 12 regular Taste Tickets, an exclusive labeled box for storing the VIP treats, upfront seating at stage events and the ability to skip the entry line (when purchased online in advance). VIP tickets make an excellent Mother's Day gift.

The Chocolate Jury Judging Tickets are also popular. For $35, those who feel up to the task will be allowed to taste and evaluate a myriad of chocolate treats, ranging across several categories in the Chocolatier Championships.

Held annually the Friday and Saturday of Mother's Day weekend at the Denver Mart, the Colorado Chocolate Festival was recently named one of the nation's five best food fairs by Orbitz Travel, and was also featured as a leading Spring food festival in USA Today.

Hours: Friday 4 - 9 pm; Saturday 10am - 6pm. The Denver Mart is located at 58th Avenue and I-25 ( exit east ). For tickets and information, visit www.COchocolateFests.com