May 15 Thursday
This event is for someone with a high interest in single-origin dark chocolate, where it comes from, how it's processed and the technicalities behind making shiny, lusciously smooth chocolate from what starts as a small, bitter bean. You’ll get to taste chocolate at every stage, from bean to bar (including sampling through all our single origin dark chocolate bars), as well as other products we make, like caramel and chocolate-covered espresso beans. We’ll describe the stages of roasting, sorting, refining and tempering. You’ll come away having tasted a lot of chocolate and having learned more about our specialty!
Join us on a beautifully paired wine and chocolate experience. This guided tour walks you through the chocolate making process, from bean to bar! Taste the cacao every step of the way and finish with a chocolate and beverage tasting that excitingly pairs three truffles with three sustainably-made, small production wines, selected and poured by our local wine partner, WINECULT.
May 16 Friday
Peek behind-the-scenes of our chocolate factory to get a high-level overview of the chocolate-making process, from bean to bar! This event is great for families, corporate groups, bachelorette weekends, and anyone new to chocolate or curious about where their food comes from. You’ll get to taste warm, flowing dark chocolate from our tempering machine, and you’ll get to sample our single origin 75% dark chocolate bars.
Attendees will enjoy a welcome drink while we give a brief introduction to our bean-to-bar, dark chocolate making process. Ingredients for decorating will abound and inspire, and you'll learn a few tidbits about how we invent flavor combinations for new delicious, sweet products at our chocolate factory. We will fill chocolate bar molds with luscious 75% dark chocolate, and you will get to decorate chocolate bars with local ingredients, like flowers, salt and fruit. While bars are setting up, we will lead a 20-30 minute chocolate tasting experience while you sip on perfectly paired wines to enhance the flavors. We are happy to provide a non-alcoholic tasting experience for anyone in the group who might require that. Your custom chocolate bars will go home with you in beautiful, resealable Twenty-Four Blackbirds pouches. Don't miss out on this delicious experience!
May 17 Saturday
Tasty treats have a strawberry twist at the 39th Annual California Strawberry Festival, Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds (10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001). Strawberry-themed nachos, chocolate-dipped strawberries, strawberry kabobs, popcorn, and margaritas are just a few of the choices. The festival also features 150 artists and crafters, a Strawberryland for kids, live entertainment on three stages, carnival rides, and a "build-your-own" strawberry shortcake experience.
Trays of freshly picked, vine-ripened strawberries are available at the festival and used in festival strawberry-themed foods. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days. General admission is $15, active military with ID and family and seniors 62 and over, $10, youth ages 5 to 12, $8 and children 4 and under are free. Limited parking onsite. Visitors are encouraged to use the free shuttle service nearby or take advantage of the Ventura Amtrak Station across the street. For more information, go to www.CAStrawberryFestival.org.
May 18 Sunday
May 22 Thursday
May 23 Friday