Trinity’s annual Chocolate Festival will be held this afternoon, Friday, Feb. 8, at 2:30 p.m. on the Esplanade.  Put on by the Student Programming Board, many organizations””including Sigma Theta Tau, Chi Beta Epsilon and other Greek organizations, the United Methodist Student Movement and the Neuroscience Club””will be giving out their chocolaty creations to participate in the competition. Student organizations were also reimbursed for up to $30 for items used to create their chocolate entry.

The judges include Richard Burr, professor of business administration, Thomas Jenkins, associate professor and chair of the classical studies department, and Lisa Petrakis, coordinator of Residential Life.

Organizations are often creative in making their desserts in an effort to attract students and win over the judges.

“Groups use different types of chocolate and get creative and it will be interesting to see if there are any new ideas this year,” said Jamie Thompson, director of Campus and Community Involvement.

In addition to student organizations, Aramark will also be providing fondue and chocolate”“covered strawberries, which associate director of traditions for SPB and junior Laura Kalb who planned this year’s Chocolate Festival said are “always a big hit.”

“[Students] always love the brain cake made by the Neuroscience Club,” Kalb said.

The prize for the best overall chocolate treat is $100 and the prize for the most creative chocolate treat is $50. Kalb believes that the participating groups are “genuinely excited about participating.”

This year, SPB will be strictly enforcing the start time of 2:30 p.m. in an effort to allow students with class until 2:20 to eat their fair share of chocolate.

“Food goes pretty fast, so you can’t touch the food before 2:30 this year,” Kalb said.

Thompson says the Chocolate Festival is one of her favorite events because it “engages the entire community in a way that not all events do.”

She also cites the “fun energy that free food brings” and says it is “a nice time to connect with the campus community.”

Kalb advises that students take advantage of this popular event because “it’s one of those things that happens at Trinity and doesn’t really happen anywhere else.”

Thompson also calls the chocolate festival a “unique event” and encourages students to participate.

“It’s free chocolate, fellowship with friends and a fun time so if you have nothing else to do on a Friday, you should be there,” Thompson said. “The music and atmosphere make it a good place to be.”