Charlotte Peacock served chocolate mints for the Ladies Aid during the 29th Annual Creede Chocolate Festival.

CREEDE—The 29th Annual Creede Chocolate Festival gave visitors a unique taste of the town’s businesses and institutions on Nov. 23-24. Creede opened its doors with discounts, chocolate concoctions and a clever contest printed on the treasure map of sites for the day.
The Creede Scoop Chase rewarded cocoa fans with local merchandise and gift certificates if they answered specific questions about Creede businesses. What species of fly is depicted in the Coffee on the Fly logo? How many displays can you find at the Underground Mining Museum? If you drank the Belgian hot chocolate while shopping at the 2nd Annual Creede Arts and Crafts Fair at the museum, you had a chance to count.
Scoop Chase winners took home prizes from Wolf Creek Ski Area, Finding Gems, Kips Grill, Kentucky Belle Market, and Community Banks of South Fork.
Kips and Rare Things Gallery took first and second respectively for best chocolate on Friday and Saturday. MJ’s Cafe took the bronze on Friday, and Wild Beaver took third on Saturday.
Best presentation went to Rare Things Gallery on the first day and Miners Restaurant on day two.
Not all the chocolate competitors were businesses. Bud and Wendy Leggitt have been operating the Underground Mining Museum for the past three years, and they poured hot chocolate during the 2nd Annual Creede Arts and Crafts Fair at the museum. The Ladies Aid tickled tongues with chocolate mints, less than a week after serving Thanksgiving Dinner to the town. The Creede Arts Council used crunchy chocolate to lure visitors to Quiller Gallery. The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office joined the competition too.