Unique Picture Around the World: Chocolate Lovers' Day 2012

All of Morgantown was dipped in chocolate Saturday afternoon. Bustling with children, families and even college students, everyone was skipping from each shop to the other in search of a chocolate and a stamp on Chocolate Lovers' Day. My friends, who may or may not have reluctantly tagged along only due to my enthusiasm, and I first stopped at Monongalia Arts Center to register.

I was a little intimidated since I haven't done this thing before, but they really make it quite simple. You could register at the Monongalia Arts Center or Arts Monongahela. Large red heart-shaped balloons and a register sign were at both locations. I walked in, surrendered $5 and received a wristband, sheet of paper and piece of candy in return. The paper had a map of the participating locations, as well as what points each location was worth. While many businesses were located along High Street, a few were on Chestnut or Spruce or side streets and were worth more points - most likely to get people off the beaten path a little bit. At each location, you received a chocolate treat and a stamp on the sheet of paper. The idea here is to visit all, or a majority, of the businesses. If you get at least 70 points total, you get to be entered into a drawing for tickets to Hershey Park.

So most participating locations along High Street were worth one point. And the harder-to-find ones ranged from 3 to 5 to 7 points. We tried to hit up almost every red heart-shaped balloon donning establishment. And I was surprised at the ones who participated - lots of restaurants, but also some churches, the library, sporting goods stores, etc. Of course they didn't bake their chocolate, so they set up small bite-sized candies. All in all, it was a pretty cool experience. I was exhausted afterward, though. I think I ended up with 73 points total - so maybe I'll get that grand prize afterall.

Participants: