Warm up with these hot chocolate festivals in Kamloops, Okanagan

Hot chocolate festivals are heating up in Kamloops and the Okanagan where foodies can sample unique, chocolatey creations at restaurants and cafes for a whole month. The hot chocolate festival in Kamloops is hosted by the Mount Paul Community Food Centre and has participating cafes and restaurants competing for gold, silver and bronze titles for the entire month of February. “Two entries have already identified their signature hot chocolates,” Dawn Christie with the food centre said. “They're not like anything I’ve tried before, they’re exciting and unique.” Nine vendors have been confirmed in Kamloops and the organizers are still looking more. Participants can hit up the locations, purchase the signature hot bevies, download an app to their phone and rate the drinks to help decide which will be crowed YKA’s Best Hot Chocolate. Each vote is an entry for prizes to win throughout the festival. “We are thrilled that there is so much excitement building in the city already,” Christie said. “We love partnering with local restaurants and cafes, supporting our local businesses and paying back to our community.” A number of different cities have hot chocolate festivals and Christie said after connecting with the hosts of a big one in Calgary, she decided the team at the food centre should join the fun. Part of the proceeds from each drink will go to the food centre, a non-profit that works in the community toward food security through educational programs, serving meals and growing food.  For more information YKA’s Best Hot Chocolate go here https://www.mountpaulcommunityfoodcentre.com/events . READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Frigid Arctic air delivers another blow to Okanagan wine industry https://infotel.ca/inwine/in-video-frigid-arctic-air-delivers-another-blow-to-okanagan-wine-industry/it102677 The third annual Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival in Kelowna kicks off on Friday, Jan. 19, and runs for a whole month. Vendors are competing for the title of the best hot chocolate and participants have numerous ways to qualify for prizes while enjoying the chocolatey creations. Participants can fill up a passport with stamps at participating venues to win prizes, enter a colouring contest and post photos of themselves sipping hot chocolate on Instagram for a chance to win gift cards and swag. For more on the Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival go here https://okanaganhotchocolatefest.ca/ . The public is encouraged to donate to the Central Okanagan Food Bank throughout the event. To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie mailto:sainslie@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .