Event Information

This was my third descent into the decadent, delirious temple that is Pike Chocofest, and I emerged sugared, dazzled, overwhelmed, and joyfully unmoored—a chocoholic fever dream with 65+ wineries, breweries, distilleries, cheese whisperers, cocoa conjurers, and culinary magicians packed into the labyrinthine bowels of Pike Brewing like so many velvety hallucinations. A crimson pre-Valentine’s ode to indulgence, set against the holy hum of Seattle’s Pike Place Market, this soirée of sips and bites raised funds—and pulses—for Puget Soundkeeper, that sainted guardian of our beleaguered waters. I tried, reader. I tried to capture it all. I tiptoed through the brewery’s creaky catwalks and candle-lit crannies, camera in one hand, truffle in the other, and still I missed chocolate flung like glitter, missed edible sculpture, missed Charles and Rose Ann Finkel bathed in red light because, let’s face it, I was too busy jamming ganache into my mouth and basking in the velvet madness of it all. And honestly? That felt just right.

Keep scrolling. Your sweet tooth deserves this.

Kim Jones and friend, laughing, wanting me to stop snapping a ridiculous amount of photos of them. Understandable.