BY KAREN BOSSICK
Are you one of those who counts on chocolate for your flavonoids and other antioxidants? Then point yourself to Twin Falls and get ready to eat chocolate for charity.
The Rotary Club of Twin Falls is hosting its 18th Annual Death by Chocolate Fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Canyon Crest Event Center overlooking the Snake River.
There, local chefs and culinary students will be competing against each other in five categories: Brownie, Cake, Candy, Cookie and Unique Dessert.
Attendees will be given ballots and tastes so that they can vote for their favorite in each category. A blind panel of judges will also vote on the best item in each category, along with the Best in Show Award and the Best in the High School Division award. The winning high school keeps the award for the year.
Past participants have created such chocolate delicacies like Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and Koto Cookies, along with scrumptious chocolate truffle cakes. Live music will be provided by Crazy Love. There will be a no-host bar, complimentary coffee and a silent auction and raffle.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, available at Kurt’s Pharmacy in the Lynwood Shopping Center or online at https://www.twinfallsrotary.org.
The money raised from the fundraiser will go toward the Rotary Club’s community project rebuilding the restrooms at the 19-acre Frontier Park off Falls Avenue near Fillmore Street. The restrooms were built in the 1970s and are woefully inadequate, said Jill Skeem, fundraising chair and a board member of the Rotary Club.
The park is used by the Cal Ripkin and Babe Ruth Baseball leagues and softball leagues. Three thousand kids from the Boy’s and Girl’s Club use it for summer activities. It also hosts pickleball tournaments, and players play day on and night on 12 lighted pickleball courts seven day a week.
Families rent the Pavilion for events, walk their dogs there and take their kids to play on the playground equipment. In addition, the National Guard performs drills in the park, using the courts for daily fitness requirements.