Wilmington Library’s chocolate festival attracts donors

Valentine’s Day brought lots of tasty sweets and treats to the Wilmington Library on Wednesday and it was all for a good cause.

The Friends of the Wilmington Library hosted its annual Chocolate Festival in hopes of attracting people with a sweet tooth as well as donors to raise money for various expenses. Neda Green, said the non-profit group does programming in addition to fundraising. It depends on the year and weather but this particular fundraiser usually brings in anywhere between $14-hundred and down.

“We have four categories and more than 10 treats in each category . And some people make more than one item.  So around 40 to 45 entries and 30 people participated this year,” Green said.

The Wilmington Library was remodeled about 5 years ago, after shutting down for 2 years for renovations. According to Green the fundraiser and changes have increased traffic.

“The numbers have improved because we have facilities that we didn’t have before. We have a lot of meeting rooms now. We never used to have meetings rooms. We also have a large area designated for teen services, so more functions now than before,” Green said.

As for the chocolate treats on display and for sale, three community members won 1st place for their baked goods. Breanna Simmons won the candy category with her Red Velvet Truffles covered in white chocolate. Ellen McKinley’s Chocolate Raspberry Valentine Cake and Chocolate Iced Brownies were also popular in the cake and brownie categories. Finally, the Firecracker cookies made by a young lady named Dee were voted best treat as well.