The eighth annual Chocolate Festival, celebrating all things chocolate, will return to Oxford United Methodist Church (OUMC), 18 Addison St., Oxford, on Saturday, March 11, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event, being presented by Women of Faith (formerly the Oxford United Methodist Women), will feature chocolate tastings, a baking contest and children's activities.

Organizing committee chair Patty Reese said that the event was canceled in 2021 and 2022 because of the pandemic. "We had the event on March 7, 2020, and the next week everything was shut down," said Reese. "We are so happy to be back."

During the event, visitors will pay a fee and receive six tickets. Each ticket will allow the person to select an item from the wide variety of chocolate treats. Additional tickets may be purchased for a nominal fee. "Containers will be provided at the entrance when they buy their tickets," Reese noted.

The Chocolate Festival will also feature a baking contest. Each entry must include chocolate as one ingredient. Categories to be judged are cakes/cupcakes, cookies, candy/fudge, brownies and other desserts. There is also a children's category for bakers age 16 and under. "A lot of kids enter their little creations; it's so cute," said Reese.

All entrants are asked to bring a complete batch of their favorite chocolate creation in a disposable container to the church fellowship hall between 8:30 and 10 a.m. There is no fee to enter, and there is no limit on the number of entries per person.

Judging will start promptly at 10 a.m. After judging is complete, volunteers will prepare separate servings that will be arranged on tables for ticket holders to select.

At 2 p.m., ribbons will be awarded for first, second and third places, as well as honorable mention, in each category. A special prize basket will go to the entry determined to be Best in Show.

Other features of the Chocolate Festival will include a Kids' Cookie Corner, where youngsters can decorate their own cookies, and candy jar contests, where visitors will be challenged to guess the number of candies in each jar. "There will be three jars this year, and the winners will get to bring the candy home," Reese noted.

Proceeds from the Chocolate Festival will be used by the Women of Faith group, which distributes money to many different mission projects throughout the year, "We make donations near and far," Reese said. "We have helped people in the Ukraine and donated (locally) to the Oxford Area Neighborhood Services Center. We help out everyone in need."

OUMC is located at the corner of Market and Addison streets in Oxford. For more information about the event, call the church office at 610-932-9698 or visit http://www.facebook.com/PastorBern/events.

Those who visit the festival may also preorder homemade Easter eggs, which will be available in four varieties: peanut butter, coconut, butter cream and chocolate nut.