Calling all chocolate lovers! The highly anticipated Wine and Chocolate Gala returns on May 20th for this year’s Chocolate Festival. Come on out for an elegant evening and indulge in a fine selection of Belizean chocolate, wines, and cocktails.

https://www.facebook.com/BelizeChocolateFestival/

Offical flier for Wine and Chocolate Gala 2022!!!



With many pandemic restrictions lifting or already lifted in Belize , it’s shaping up to be a summer to remember with a number of events returning. And the Caribbean is no stranger to festivals, opportune to socialize and reconnect after more than two years apart. Add in a central focus on food ? Sold. In 2022, the Belize Cacao (Chocolate) Festival returns at last to the southernmost town of Belize, Punta Gorda, to revel in all things cacao! Held annually near Sovereign’s Day, which was previously a long weekend in Belize, the festival is two whole days dedicated to the Maya food of the gods in the chocolate stronghold of Belize: Toledo District . Save the date for its signature Wine & Chocolate Gala on Friday, May 20, and the street fair on Saturday, May 21!

A bastion of undiscovered authenticity where it’s always possible to live like a local in Belize, this is a place where the fishing culture is alive, the rain plentiful, and the chocolate? Legendary.

Toledo is Belize’s southernmost district and also the country’s least developed region, bordered to the west and south by Guatemala. In fact, the Guatemalan towns of Livingston and Puerto Barrios are a mere hour’s boat ride by skiff away. It’s nicknamed the Deep South for a reason: the five-hour drive from Belize City traverses the always scenic Hummingbird Highway before veering onto the Southern Highway.

Additionally, Toledo is also home to the highest concentration of traditional Maya villages in Belize. Hidden within her foliage are the most spectacular abandoned cities on earth like Nim Li Punit and Lubantuun, replete with forests of pyramids, temples, and stelae; it’s a testament to the high culture of the Classic Maya, but also the modern-day Yucatec, Mopan, and Q’eqchi’ Maya people, too. Belize’s Toledo District is world-renowned for having some of the finest quality cocoa in the international market.

For days on end, the Chocolate Festival of Belize hosts vendor booths, artists, small businesses, and even performers on both sides of the street in Punta Gorda Town, the district capital. Here, visitors mingle and dive into an authentic culinary adventure with cacao. Learn how to make chocolate and try something new, whether it’s the ancient chocolate drink xocolatl or something new, like chocolate BBQ chicken. And of course, enjoy marimba, steel pan, Garifuna drumming, and even Mayan dance performances.

The festival itself is heralded by a wine night, where participants for the weekend have the chance to mingle before. After all, people come from all over the country to attend! This year, tickets are on sale for BZ$50.00 each; this event is sponsored by businesses like Traveller’s Liquors , Copalli Rum—the Toledo-produced single-estate rum , and Belikin—who produces a seasonal chocolate stout and recently relaunched a redesigned bottle, just in time for the Belize Chocolate Festival.

Started in 2007 by a group of local cacao farmers and chocolate manufacturers, the Chocolate Festival of Belize officially returns to Toledo on May 20 and 21, 2022. The last Chocolate Festival of Belize held was in 2019 before the pandemic shuttered events, and this is one authentic adventure for foodies in Belize!

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CLICK HERE for an article on the Chocolate Festival on the Tropic Air Blog

Taste of Toledo Street fair 2022, Saturday May 20th at the Punta Gorda welcome plaza. Booths are available contact 6133893 to secure your booth!!!

Tickets for Wine and Chocolate gala now available! You may purchase tickets from Tide Tours in Hopeville, Mr. Rob Pennell, Mrs. Charmagne Westby-Ramirez, and Mrs. Jo Audinett. Arrangements can be made to reserve your ticket also by sending a message to our Facebook page or calling 613-3893.

Here Are a Few Pictures From the Chocolate Festival Held in Punta Gorda, Toledo.


Click photos for more pictures!