Once again, February is here, and the world is upside down. Love has struck in the holiday form and Valentine's Day is just a couple days away. Undeniably, it is the first thing most of us think of when February is mentioned (People who say they think of Groundhog Day when they hear February are lying).
February, love and Valentine's Day have almost become synonymous, but so have flowers, love notes, and, of course, chocolate.
Women have a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day. We love it when we have a valentine--and hate the horrible holiday when we're alone. Chocolate and women also have a love/hate relationship. Love it when we eat it--hate it when it hits our thighs. Maybe this is why Valentine's Day and chocolate have become so intertwined; they have so much in common.
It is too late to visit the Glendate Chocolate Affaire for this year, but indulge your sweet tooth at these tempting events:
Scottsdale Fine Art & Chocolate Festival at Scottsdale Pavilions, 9175 E. Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Free. 480.837.5637.
Flower Show & Chocolate Tasting at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, U.S. 60, west of Superior. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. $6. 520.689.5248.
Lovers Lane at Kierland Commons, Greenway Parkway and Scottsdale Road, Phoenix. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Free. 480.348.1577.
A good place to see this connection is at Glendale's Chocolate Affaire. The chocolate extravaganza is held at Murphy Park, on 58th Street and Glendale Avenue, and the day I visited, it was jammed with people wandering around aimlessly. No one moves too fast when they are filled with chocolate.
The air is full of the sweet scent--understandably, since every other booth is dedicated to chocolate.
I walk past the candle vendors and soap makers, right toward the booth where you can make your own chocolate pizza. Chocolate is the dough, and you choose your variety of toppings, from peppermint mushrooms or marshmallow onions, to sprinkle on top. The line is far too long, so I settle for a strawberry on steroids drenched in chocolate. It's huge, and so is the price: $2 for a single strawberry. But temptation gives in, the fruit is ripe and sweet and the chocolate melts in my mouth.
Families walk around with chocolate covered bananas and ice cream sprinkled with nuts. I sit and listen to the local band sing their versions of Jack Johnson and John Mayer tunes. Everyone around me savors the music, the desserts and the end of the beautiful day.
Little kids and several adults spill and catch chocolate on their mouths and a little on their clothes. No one cares; everyone is too intent on enjoying the treats to even notice.
"I don't think chocolate is very romantic," Jared Ellison says.
He has come to the fair with his fiancee, Melissa Cox, to eat a little chocolate and see what all the fuss is about.
"I have never given chocolate as a gift before," he says. He is soon informed by Cox that he will in the future.
Melissa Mith has also come to see the festival. "I have gotten chocolate as a Valentine's gift before," she says. "It was sweet ... both the chocolate and the thought."
But as for why chocolate and Valentine's Day are so closely related, she says it is all commercial.
"That and chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac--that could be part of it," Mith adds.
The Affaire is a good time to enjoy the sweet things in life. Although I found the perfect chocolate, it is still not very romantic.
This year I've tackled the chocolate, maybe next year, I'll work on the boy.
Reach the reporter at samantha.xanthos@asu.edu.
