I appreciate that parking was free and so was general admission. No one likes paying for parking. Not sure why this is advertised as a Chocolate Affair though, it's actually just a farmers market. Food trucks and vendors outside of the civic center and then vendors inside. It's not just chocolate vendors inside which would make sense so the chocolate doesn't melt, it's solar, window treatments, realtors, etc. There are WAY TOO MANY vendors in that tiny room. There is absolutely no room to walk around comfortably and actually look at what anyone was offering. And of course there are strollers, wheelchairs and wagons to navigate through. People stop at a vendor table and then hold up the whole line of people trying to walk down the aisles. Please work on your logistics. This was not a fun event to attend, we didn't even stay for 30 minutes. Don't advertise this as a Chocolate Affair. It is anything but. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

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This event is a yearly event that usually takes place at the Glendale Civic Center. It looks like this event has been going on for at least 16 years now. Most food festivals cost money and/or parking. What's awesome about this event is that it is one of the rare events where it is free admission and free parking so you really have nothing to lose by checking it out. There were 8 general food vendors which were situated outside. All the chocolate vendors were inside of the exhibit halls in the Civic Center. Along with this were a few other misc pop ups such as clothing, trinket, home improvement, and candy vendors. The chocolate vendors were a mix of actual physical establishments such as Cerreta's Chocolate Factory and pop ups such as Wysked. Something this place had that I don't see a lot of food festivals have is ample seating to enjoy your delicious treats. There's a beer garden too if you're looking for some alcohol. Overall, it's a pretty small festival but full of neat places to browse. Since it's in the heart of downtown Glendale, you can also spend your time walking around time if you haven't gotten full off the savory sweets of this festival. read more

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This year Glendale hosted the event inside of their Civic Center. It was a massive conference room with a patio and outdoor area at both ends. On the West patio, live music, and on the East patio, wine tasting. Inside were all of the chocolate and sweet vendors. Our favorites we purchased from were the Coconut Lime Fudge from Timoteo's Spice Co (from Surprise, AZ), and Earl Grey Blueberry Jam & Fig-Pomegranate Spread Jam from Periodyc Baker (from Peoria, AZ). Another great vendor was a Costa Rican couple who run a coffee shop (Cortez Coffee Roasters in Tempe, AZ) and a chocolate company (Midge Chocolate Co). They had real cocoa pods which were massive that you could touch, and you could try samples of their chocolate and of their coffee. I plan on visiting their coffee shop very soon, their chocolate was also the best at the event! Admission is free. Take your time browsing all of the vendors, then when you find some goodies, take a seat outside to enjoy them with the live music. Also, bring cash! For parking, there is a free parking garage nearby and street parking too. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Lots of chocolate vendors at the Glendale Civic Center! :) - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

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The thing about this event is that everyone has something chocolate to sell you. That's the point. Yes there are vendors. Yes food and drinks. Yes there are people there to make money. Chocolate isn't free. But there were chocolate ice creams, drinks, pizzas, cookies, brownies, candies, and various things for you to try that were delicious that you might not be able to find all the time. It was just fun walking around the park and streets seeing the different creations. I got chocolate frybread strips. Yummy!! We found seating. We ate in the shade. We even found a lovely couple to chat with that also loved chocolate too. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

Unremarkable Was excited after seeing an ad for this event in Phoenix Magazine. Wish we would have found something else to go to given all the options this Super Bowl weekend. We could only find four true chocolate vendors. The bulk are really just normal carnie food purveyors. Trees were nice and lit, but the area is run down, the grounds were somewhat dirty, and there were ample opportunities to hear short-tempered people arguing who was really rude by walking past/blocking/not letting the other go. Out of all the vendors here, we only liked the rootbeer float guy, the cheese curds/mini donuts ladies, the the only premium chocolates booth (Xocolati?), and the Hawaiian food people. Parking wasn't too bad at least. We found a good number of spaces open towards 60, behind the businesses. $5 and only two blocks away. That's IF you do want to go to this event. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

I'm so coming here next year! The only reason I ended up at this place is because we had gone to the Glendale Farmers Market (a bust) and this fest happen to be in town and it was walking distance from the farmers market. But I am glad. I really didn't't expect it to be much, but it was that and more. Plenty of food trucks, a variety of vendors and Chocolate of course. And they were giving samples as well. Oh and just in case you needed an adult beverage while you were there, they had that too. But only in restricted areas. Family fun and kid friendly. And the weather happen to be beautiful. Oh and take some cash. There was a game area there as well. You know like at fairs. We spent way to much on the ring toss, but won at the water shooting game. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Delish Mint Chip Icecream - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

After the holiday season and all its lights are gone, I start to worry a bit that Historic Downtown Glendale--my stomping grounds--will start to get a little bit dull. Fortunately, the fun wasn't finished yet. With Valentine's Day around the corner, everyone is thinking about chocolate...and Glendale has delivered! This is a large weekend festival dedicated to the cocoa you crave, and much more. Basically, there are dozens of booths, many of which selling chocolatey snacks. Lots of fudge, chocolate popcorn, chocolate-covered fruit, etc. The absolute star is San Francisco Chocolate and its massive tent, serving up huge $5 slices of frozen cheesecake dipped in melted chocolate. I got mine dark, and couldn't even finish such a huge portion! Gosh, this really, totally, absolutely hits the spot. But I wasn't done. There was the turtle popcorn from another booth, covered in melted chocolate and pecans. There was also some real food, and a lot of what I'd call "fair food". I was practically in a coma by the end of it. I think there are a few legitimate criticisms of this festival. It really comes down to the same two companies dominating the scene every year, and they mostly serve the same thing. That's no fun. Fortunately, there were a lot of cool, smaller booths I didn't recognize. Another is overall cleanliness. There were bees everywhere! They were attacking all the sugary snacks! This doesn't bother me, but it will probably bother you. Finally, there's a lot of stuff that isn't chocolate. I saw, for example, gourmet $22 dollar freaking salad dressing. Really? Is this the time? But overall, I'm going to go to this whenever I can, and I can find something new I like every year. I'm a fan, and would recommend this to anyone with a sweet tooth. read more

I wasn't too impressed with the chocolate festival. Although the location itself was very picturesque with the tree lights and nice walkways, it was so crowded on Saturday that when you walked around, it seemed like you could only inch your way from booth to booth. When we actually got to the booths, we were disappointed to find that most of the chocolate goods for sale used chocolate as an "accessory" to the dessert rather than the main focus. For instance, while there were some booths that sold fudge, most of the booths were mainly selling some sort of fruit or main dessert dipped in chocolate. We came here in anticipation of trying out some chocolate dipped key lime pie, only to discover that the one booth that sold it, had sold out for the night. In addition, when we were here it seemed like just a big conglomeration of booths, with only some of them selling chocolate. It seemed like most of the booths were either some sort of non-food good (like jewelry, hair pins, etc) or fair-type food such as lemonade and funnel cake. I would have liked to see a chocolate contest, where the different booths have a different chocolate item for people to buy, with the winner announced at the end. I think this would have attracted more booths to offer more chocolate options. read more

Glendale needs to find a bigger piece of property to host this festival. Maybe they should condemn the blocks and blocks of blight and then you will have more room. Besides the crowded aisles, this is not a real chocolate festival. It should be renamed the Cerrata chocolate festival. 90% of the booths selling chocolate are from Cerrata, including two main tents, one with the pizza and the other with all the frozen stuff. The rest of the chocolate was split between a few out of town vendors and then they made the real vendors sell one chocolate item as well. Chocolate lemonade was not good, but one place had a candy that was unusual and tasty. Otherwise, the romance novelists were a nice touch, but not mainstream enough to have any value at this kind of festival. Some of the bands were good and over by the music, there was more room to spread out. read more

Glendale Chocolate Affaire - Best chocolate was from a food truck. - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

2012: I know the city of Glendale must work extra hard at putting this annual event together. The signs are all there. And it is obviously has become very popular. But, they need to re-think the overall logistics considering its popularity. Parking was practically impossible. Public parking lots were all full. Every street parking spot was full. Business and private lots were charging and full too. Endless lines of traffic trying to find somewhere to park. Once you did find a parking spot and walked the multiple blocks to get there, it was shoulder-to-shoulder people, dogs, strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, etc. Endless snake lines to get close to a booth and get anything to eat. There were some wonderful chocolate booths - chocolate cupcakes, chocolate strawberries, chocolate dipped cheesecake, chocolate dipped key lime pie, etc. But, once again, the other booths seemed to outnumber the chocolate flavored ones. Lemonade, popcorn, fry-bread, BBQ, artwork, t-shirts, kids clothes, dog trinkets, jewelry, pottery, and on and on. A Chocolate Affaire should be primarily CHOCOLATE! Hopefully, in 2013, Glendale will find a larger venue with more parking and make sure that the larger percentage of booths are chocolate booths. There are so many chocolate options that I did not see . . . . at the Chocolate Affaire. read more

My first choccy festival! I've longed to be part of this "affaire" since reading of its existence in the spring of '03, the year I moved to the valley. I finally went, and I'm already looking forward to next year's! Planning on grabbing something to eat before attending the festival, and not able to spot anything intriguing on my way to 59th and Glendale aves, I parked at the free public garage an hour before the event's commencement. No sooner than when I exited my car did my brain register that yes, I'll be consuming a lot of chocolates this afternoon :D The aroma of chocolates was definitely evident, even though the lot was relatively void of attendees. Oh, this is going to be fun! But first, I had to get some nutritious sustenance. First tent I spotted was for the making of chocolate pizza, with Cerreta's providing the tempered chocolate. There was already a line of people waiting to make theirs, and it was only 4p; My chances of scoring some food looked pretty good! However, it wasn't going to be chocolate pizza, since the chocolate contained * (I asked). A-ha! I spotted some food vendors just ahead... Funnel cakes, Euro Gyros, Crepe Tyme, Alice Cooperstown's Coop-zookies, hot fudge brownie sundaes, and The Big Unit... whoa! Anthony Bourdain did a segment on this hotdog, but I hadn't realized how big it really is! (16"?!?) Too bad I left my cell in the car (I retrieved it after I had something to eat), or it would be among the pics above. Cooperstown also had BBQ pork sammies ($6 ea.), *-free, but I'd have to wait since they weren't quite ready, so I kept walking. There were chile burgers, corn dogs, teriyaki chicken 'n pork on sticks, lo mein, and chocolate-covered potato chips. Honey Bear's BBQ too was there, but their one BBQ sauce contained *... pass. (Hmm... is it me, or don't the choices of vendors present seemed odd to pair w/ chocolate? I wondered, "What selections would I encounter if I were to attend San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival?") Beverage-wise, there were snow cones, cherry-lemonades, hot and cold cocoas, lattes, frappes, Budweiser beers, and Kokopelli wines. There was even Zemer's homemade rootbeer, made w/ genuine sassafras from trees planted by the current owner Chris' grandfather. (I didn't approach Chris until after stuffing myself w/ samples 'n goat milk fudge, pecans, 2 pork sammies, 2 glasses of wine, a dark-choc. pecan patty ($2 ea.), and not one, but TWO smore's on sticks ($3 ea.), so I couldn't even imagine ingesting anything else at that point. Shame, since who knows when I'll cross paths with Chris' *-free concoction again?) Since I was striking out on food, I approached a few chocolate vendors hawking samples. Corn ingredients kept me out of the game from the first few already: Cerreta's caramel apples, Belgian waffles and ice cream, Mackinac Island fudge. Wei of Chocolate was a delectable possibility, but I was looking for more... oomph. I found it in Fossil Creek Creamery's goat milk fudge (2 boxes, $6.50 ea.) and Amour Chocolates. I tried samples of the bars: dark choc. chile, dark choc. cherry pecan, white choc. espresso crunch, white choc. chile, etc. All quite good! So good, in fact, that I bought 20 bars! $1.95 per, or buy three or more @ $1.75 each. (I'd post pics, but it seems like all of the choc bars are aesthetically defective. Update: Trisha called back and said I can return and replace them, postage-free.) Next came Nutz About Nuts! Oh, the aromas from this tent sent me reeling in a state of bliss! One moment I was sampling a cinnamon-anonanon pecan and a sweet jalapeno pecan, and the next moment I was forking out $20 for 4 packs (or $6 ea.). OK, back to real food, please! Corn, corn, everywhere forced me to have Cooperstown's BBQ pork sammy and a glass of Kokopelli Winery's merlot. Wanted a glass of their pinot noir since samples of cabernet sauvignon and merlot did not impress, but the "wine only" side didn't have any pinot noir to sell (??). One complaint: A sign stated "Glass of wine $4, $5 Wine with souvenir wine glass," and yet, there weren't any glasses to take home. Many attendees were bummed about that. Me, too, But only for a sec. Who wants a plastic wine glass, anyway, and hey! Chocolate smooths out ALL the kinks, if you ask me :D Must go to sleep (it's 4a!). What a fun-filled second-half of the day I had... I was there for almost 6 hours!! P.S. Awesome tunes, too! All of the performers rocked! 2nd Amour choc update: Was told last week not to send chocs back, but that defective chocs would be replaced as soon as new batches were made. Still waiting. 3rd Amour choc update: Received batches of chocs. in great condition! read more

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Been coming to this event for the last four years. In that time, I've learned some tricks of the trade to make the most of your experience here. Here's a couple of tips: 1. I would HIGHLY recommend coming on Friday night rather than Saturday or Sunday. The crowds are much lighter, the lines shorter, and finding parking in the area is much less cumbersome. 2. If you must come on Saturday or Sunday, get here right when the event opens. By 1pm the event is wall to wall people and the lines will only get longer as the day progresses 3. Start your visit by doing a lap around the perimeter of Murphy Park so you can examine each of the vendors. That way you can choose which ones you want to patronize in advance. 4. Work your way from lightest concoctions to heaviest. For example I usually will do something light like a chocolate covered pretzel to start and end with chocolate covered cheesecake. Its a good idea to mix in some salty snacks in between like roasted nuts or chips (both of which are also sold here). 5. They have a lot of chocolate vendors that come and go from year to year, but there are also ones that are annual mainstays. For good reason. They're the best ones. Three mainstays I'd recommend trying: Cerreta's (obviously), San Francisco Chocolate Factory, and Mr. Fudge. 6. The chocolate pizza station looks cool and your kids would probably love it, but its expensive. And if you're an adult you'll likely be disappointed with what you get for the money. My advice, skip it. 7. The prime parking area is around 56th Ave. just north of Glendale. That area will put you basically right in between the main festival at Murphy Park and Cerreta's Factory. If you don't care to walk to Cerreta's Factory, then try parking north of the main festival at Landmark Middle School. 8. That said, I do highly recommend making the trek to Cerreta's Factory. The Factory has a much wider variety of candies and chocolates than their festival booth and its only about a half mile east of the festival. 9. There are military groups and rotary clubs that fundraise here. Be sure to give them a donation. Some of them will give you a coupon or a free treat as a heartfelt thank you. You'll feel good helping them out too. 10. Read the street signs for parking. Glendale PD is out in force for the event and I've seen vehicles towed for parking in fire lanes, parking in handicap spots, and even blocking residents driveways There are a ton of non-chocolate vendors at this event too including live music as well as rides and attractions for the kids. And if you're looking for a place to sit down and have a full meal before or after the event, La Piazza al Forno, A Touch of European Cafe, and Haus Murphy's are excellent dining options in the neighborhood. Like I said though, if at all possible, go on Friday. read more

**DON'T go on a Saturday** The City of Glendale should rename this event - "Let's See How Many People We Can Cram into the Velma Teague Library Park Affaire" The City of Glendale has very strict city code enforcement and fire marshal ordinances, you'd think they would be more concerned with crowd control...nah! I think every person who lives in the Valley must had been there on Saturday. Like others had mentioned, it was so should-to-shoulder crowded that you really couldn't see much of anything among the masses of people in a small area. (I begged DH if we could PLEASE go on a Sunday instead...esp during football, oops! What was I thinking to make that suggestion???) The parking was horrible. Didn't see much chocolate (I can just go to Cerrata's or See's anytime without fighting a huge crowd of people). Of what I could see, there were various vendors in the Mad Hatter parking lot (maybe they signed up with the Mad Hatter and not the city) that were selling some vintage stuff, collectibles, artsy stuff, crafts, etc. The crowd was just too dense near the main area to get to the vendor tents - Velma Teague Library. I only managed to buy a bag of Kettle Corn before leaving. There were food vendors and a inflatable jumping thing....and hundreds of people. Why doesn't the city spread the festival down many blocked off streets, instead of containing it to one small area of the library lawn for hundreds of people to gather? Poorly planned. Unless you are the type of person who relishes shopping on Black Friday or you like to visit Disneyland during the most busiest time of the year (Xmas break)...basically, my point is if you LOVE HUGE crowds, then you'll love this. If I want chocolate so badly, I'll just microwave some leftover Snickers bars from Halloween with a bowl of pretzels. read more

I have attended the Glendale chocolate affaire off & on for 16 years now . This year was seriously disappointing. The event was advertised as free admission & free parking . While admission was free , parking was $10! It felt more like a craft fair than one supposedly dedicated to chocolate .there were approximately 5 chocolate booths ?!!! The rest were craft tables & corporations trying to sell their crap! The kids enjoyed the carnival rides which were 3-5 tickets per ride at $1 per ticket.. Ouch.. We won't be back, nor can I in good faith recommend anyone else going . Hopefully in the future glendale will take a closer look at who is renting their booths, and diversify a little better . Oh and offer better parking !!! read more

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I don't think I was expecting anything better. It was a basic street fair with vendors everywhere, crowds, bad parking, and overpriced things. We arrived to a ton of traffic and no parking. We finally gave up and paid $10 to park. I was expecting more chocolate vendors. There were a few different options, but not much. It was basically chocolate covered strawberries or bananas, fudge, caramel apples, or a berry kabob. All were super expensive and didn't taste any differently than if I would have just purchased the food from the grocery store. My two daughters were excited about a few rides and jumpy castles, but the prices were so outrageous that I only allowed them to do one thing. It was $3 each for them to go in a bouncy castle for exactly 3 minutes. So $6 total for 3 minutes? Definitely not worth it! Especially since my two little ones had to dodge huge kids that were way too big to be playing in a bouncy castle to begin with! I did like being able to walk through some of the older stores/homes that sold cute antiques and stuff It was something to do on a Saturday afternoon, but I don't know if I'd go again. read more

02.06.10 Like every street fest, there are vendors, vendors and more vendors out to get my money. A cop laughed at us when we posed under the "beer garden" sign. I thought that was pretty hilarious. $4 root beer float, and you get to keep the cup. $1 refills, for life! Chocolate and peanut covered bananas. 'Nuff said. read more

My wife and I went to Glendale Chocolate Affaire for 2017. We were disappointed. It is nothing like what it is made out to be. Do not waste your time going there from Mesa. You can find better. The main issue I had was the fact that the chocolate they offered was so sugary. I do not know about other's tastes, but the kinds of chocolates I like are common in Europe. I like dark chocolate...the darker the better. By many European standards, dark chocolate has a minimum percentage of cacao by weight. read more

I wish I'd known that there'd be so much not chocolate related items for sale. So be aware this is more of festival that has some chocolate emphasis. Having said that MORE chocolate is needed. The lines for the chocolatier chains were insane & not enough local presence in my opinion. It's well organized, the vendors were kind & the fact that it's a free festival with music, food trucks, beer/wine means we will be back every year & so should you. read more

I was so amped up for this event and when I arrived, I was immediately unplugged. This was my first encounter with Glendale's Chocolate Affair and my expectations were set WAAAAY too high. Where are the elaborate chocolate displays and demonstrations? Where are the artisians? The enthusiasts? The chocoholics? All I saw were ridiculous lines of people waiting to pay too much for your basic fair food in which some of it was dipped in chocolate. BFD. Maybe it was the best chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick ever, but I will never know because I'm not waiting any longer than 15 minutes to find out. Next time, I'm just going to head down the Central Phoenix Farmer's Market where I can give my money to local folks who are passionate about their craft and are fantastic at what they do. (Bite Me Brownies, Wei of Chocolate, etc.) I won't have to wait in line longer than It's a Small World at Disney for some crappy apple dipped in chocolate. Thankfully, we didn't bring the dogs as they would've been trampled and I feel sorry for the people who had their little ones in strollers because they were like salmons swimming upstream. I overheard one dad say that he had had enough. He was taking the stroller back to the car and just carry the baby. On a positive note, the entertainers were good for the time I was there and I found the little area shops charming. read more

Kinda dissapointed! What is not to love about chocolate and sugar? Wine and music! But so many people, I started to feel agoraphobic....it was not this crazy in years past. Too many people, poorly set up. I still have to say, the chocolate possibilities save the day..... It is something to experience, if you have not yet been there, and touring Cerreta's smells SOOOO good! The other reviews were spot on for a Saturday event.... read more

I think giving this 2 stars is being generous. For a chocolate affair, there really wasn't a whole lot of chocolate vendors. It was pretty disappointing. There's a whole bunch of these type of "festivals" throughout the year and we've been to two of them (the Glitter lights being the other) and both times I have been thoroughly disappointed. Parking sucks and PRICEY which i wouldn't mind if they weren't such a huge disappointment. The choco vendors that were there I guess was pretty good but I'd say maybe 30-40% of the vendors there had anything to do with chocolate. Boo. :( read more

Not what I was hoping for, it's more like a food vending walk... had the regular everyday chocolate dipped strawberries and fudge, Ceretta's chocolates and some chocolate cookie bars but was expecting way more! kettle corn, Indian Fry Bread , Saugage and peppers, nuts etc... but that's everywhere you go... it was nice to walk in and it was clean... but really nothing special unless you just want to walk around Glendale... heading over to the Greek festival now so hoping it's more related to it's title. read more

This was also my first chocolate festival and this place was packed when we got there Friday night just after 7 pm. We had overpriced hot dogs that were ok, but dessert was much better. The Indian fry bread with sugar, cinnamon and honey was so yummy. I played it safe and had chocolate covered strawberries and my boyfriend had a slice of chocolate covered cheesecake. The cheesecake was very rich, but still really good. We each tried a free sample of Kokopelli Wines and the samples were much too small to really get a taste of their wines. My boyfriend couldn't even swirl his Merlot in the cup they gave us which was smaller than the measuring cup you get with cough medicine. We both passed on ordering a glass of the wines we tried. And we love wine. :( There was also a place that was serving samples of soups and dips (sorry I can't remember their name) and they were all delicious. I never knew Glendale had such a cute downtown area. read more

After years of going I guess I'm burned out. The festival basically is the exact same each year. If you've never been, it is worth the trip. Gone before? Maybe. Highlights of the weekend: A chance to show off some of the cooler businesses in old town Glendale. Chocolate. Some guys that come each year with homemade root beer (worth it for them alone). OTG (one of the pubs) generally has at least 1 chocolate beer on tap. Great restaurants in downtown Glendale. Haus Murphy and Pizza al Forno are two of my favorites. Lenny's is okay if you want a burger, fries, and malt. Downsides: Parking. All Glendale events have this issue. It's not awful, but not great. It is the exact same each year. Unless you are a real chocoholic I'd say it is worth going once or twice. But after a while it's got a bit of that "been there, done that" feel. I don't know what would help but this year we basically just did a loop around and had some root beer. Go once. Go with friends or kids. Hit up some of the local businesses. But I'm not sure it is a year in and year out thing. read more

We're residents of Glendale and as much as I love the downtown area I think I'm burned out on the chocolate festival. The same people and booths show up year after year, and they're a lot of the same ones who come to Glendale Glitters. If you love chocolate and don't mind crowds, this is a fun time. Stop in at OTG (the pub) and check out whatever chocolate beer they have on tap. Get some root beer or a float from the guys who brew it from scratch. Save your mug and bring it back year after year for cheap refills. There are some awesome restaurants in Downtown Glendale (Haus Murphy's, Pizza al Forno, La Santisima), but they're liable to be packed out the door during a big event like this. read more

This sucked.. I really expected some Willy wonky type of stuff.. instead there were nothing but promo booths and two chocolate booths the rest were for decoration. Waste of my time.... my chocolate banana had freezer burn... read more

Visited this event for the first time this year & we were very pleased with the collection, the vendors & options to choose from. We scoped the place out first, taking it all in, then went back over our steps purchasing the things that caught our eye. It can get pricey & add up fast, so that was a good strategy as our goal was to try a bit of everything :-) We are definitely planning to make this a regular event to attend. read more

Enjoyed the chocolate fair again this year. Arrived a few minutes before opening so parking was free! Got a tasty brat, fries, and iced tea. Took the shuttle bus to the factory and picked out a dozen assorted chocolates. Got a couple of root beer floats for $1 each with our Zemer's mugs from several years ago. There were tons of bees everywhere but I learned that male honeybees don't have stingers, only the females. Who knew? Also stopped into Coyote Oaties nearby for some cookies. Murphy Park gets awfully crowded and the sun was out so it was a bit draining, but I still had a good time. read more

The Chocolate Fair used to be full of many stalls selling their creative works but as each year has passed it has become filled with more businesses that are not selling crafts but advertisement of their business. It has become more disappointing and less of a desire to support. I found out today that the City of Glendale has raised the cost of the stalls so much that small crafts businesses couldn't even afford to come. Once again the city's greed has destroyed what used to be a joy to experience. read more

I agree with Rachel C. & Luciana L. on the parking situation and the logistics of the whole place. Although I will probably go again because my kids do enjoy it and I was able to get the last paid parking spot (at 11am). I have been to this event and others in downtown Glendale and they can't handle the volume of people that go to these things. Downtown Glendale is similar to downtown Scottsdale but 1/10th the size and capacity. There are tons of little shops in a historic district with ONE parking garage and whats worse is you will pass many empty lots that they pay cops to stand around just to make sure you dont park there. I finally ask a police officer where CAN we actually park. Anyway, the event was cool with lots for the kids, it is a farmers market that sells food you would find at the fair thrown in with some chocolate vendors, jumpers and carnival type rides for the kids in separate areas that require separate tickets for each area (this was way annoying too). Glendale could do better by putting up directories everywhere for people to know where they are, where bathrooms are, and they could spread things out and offer more space per human being (I am sure this place is stupid in the evening). Plus they need to do something about parking, even if they build a HUGE garage and charge $20 a car at least there would be options for people who dont want to walk a mile before they walk around for miles.... All that said, we will probably go next year because we still do not know the definition of insanity. read more

Where was the chocolate? We were expecting all kinds of chocolate and chocolate themed items, there were only maybe 6 or so truly chocolate or pastry type vendors the rest were crafts and food or carnival kid things. We were very disappointed. read more

I agree with the majority of the feedback given..feedback from attending in Feb of 2012. I also went to the Chocolate Affaire for the first time last year...WAS NOT IMPRESSED. Parking was horrendous. We had to park several blocks away, which I had not planned on, and with a sore heal to start with, I was hobbling to get there in the 25 minutes it took us to reach the event. It was a much smaller event that we thought it would be. Not many chocolate vendors at all...some were out of the treats, the lines were horrible to wait in to get anything. We went on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, we were done with everything within an hour, and just roamed around to see if there was anything we missed, there wasn't. Glendale needs to have many more chocolate vendors. We only stood in one line to try the chocolate dipped cheesecake, which was wonderful, however, everything was very overpriced. If you had more vendors, the lines would be spread out better. I'm surprised there weren't vendors or even home cook-offs...with chocolate cakes, pies, cookies...chocolate wine, hot chocolates, gnache treats, candies, cupcakes, cake pops....many more ideas of chocolate could be offered. My friend and I have decided to try it again this year, but if it's the same small event, with too many people, in too small of an area, and too little to offer, we will not attend in the future. We drive from South Chandler, and it was too far to drive for such an Un-eventful event. The review that Aileen gave (the only positive one I saw),makes me think she was one of the people sponsoring the event. She knew every type of food, and every booth that was there...I don't think this was an honest review by someone just trying to see what the event was like. I think it was a review from someone who worked there, or sponsored it, trying to get more people to attend. I hope 2013 gives us "chocoholics" a pleasant surprise with a much better event than 2012. read more

It's a plain fair, with games, vendors, fair food. Nothing exciting. I was thinking it was going to be fancy chocolates or different ways to make or interesting chocolate recipes. Maybe with wine pairing. More focus in Valentine's Day theme but nop. Noticing romantic about it. read more

Don't bring chocoholics here or you'll go broke. This venue is set up pretty well. boutiques are placed around the library with the chocolate vendors. Small carnival rides to the east of the library & also north on the same street. Food vendors to the north with all your carney favorites. Down the street (within walking distance of course) beer & music. The Glendale chocolate festival is a great way to spend a couple hours in the day enjoying food & the earth of the sun on your face. unless you go at night of course, lol. Plenty of Antique stores around the venue & even a little mini venue just a block east of the chocolate festival. Like a garage sale/mini swap meet you'll find old & new here. If you love chocolate well then make a point to stop by & fill your desires! read more

One of the best events in the area. Great selection of chocolate treats, wonderful shops and awesome bands! Try to come on the Friday or Sunday, Saturday evening is extremely crowded! read more

I have always enjoyed attending. The crispy corn dogs! mmmmm.... And then to meet the authors. My favorite part. But what is wrong with the people that put together the event info online. Too lazy to add a list of authors that will be attending? read more

We have been at the chocolate affair since 2006 and YES Parking is a nightmare, even since they build the new garage, My biff is, customers complaining about the prices Vendors are charging for the food or activities, and this is where I need to put my 2 cents. Do most of you realize that the City charges rent for Vendors to set up, and NOT in the $hundreds but thousands, then you have the Health Dept. fees. So you do the math, Rent + Help + Supplies + Lodging + any penny the City & State can grab from you. Those Vendors HAVE to charge those Prices! Most vendors there, are mom & pops who work hard & long hours to provide you with an array of fair food.. There's a tremendous amount of work and lack of sleep to provide the public with such choices.. We are lucky that Aramark or one of those "SUPER WALMART" Food companies are not there, because trust me the Food would really suck and prices would be twice as much! Yes, I agree Glendale needs to bring a better variety of Arts & Crafts Vendors, NOT the run of the Mill "MOM & POP" Art on a stick! But actual Artist! That part of the Festival usually bears nothing appealing. There's also seems to be a need for shuttle service or better traffic control. A special area well lit and secure for children would make a much pleasured family trip.. Just remember follow the money trail and in those hard economic times, festival promoters NO longer care, as everything else, they are just selling spots to whom can afford it with NO perks! So, YOU the customer get charge for it! Maybe next time you stroll at an Art & Craft fair you will look at those Vendors with a different attitude & NOT make those rude comments about prices, as the promoters racks in the money not the vendors! read more