Paradise Chocolate Festival – A sweet reunion for Paradise

As owners of Joy Lyn’s Candies in Paradise, CA, Bill and Pam Hartley have dedicated themselves to spreading smiles with delectable sweets, but also through serving the community. In 2006, while volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club, Bill established the Paradise Chocolate Fest (chocolatefest.us/) to benefit youth and tingle the taste buds of the North State. The festival instantly exploded in popularity. In 2010, Paradise Chocolate Fest became a non-profit, directed by Debbie LaPlant Moseley. Over the years, the annual festival has brought out the best in the community—the best chocolate and the best support for local youth. Cal Expo ranks the Paradise Chocolate Fest as one of the “Top Festivals in the Golden State.”

In November 2018, the Camp Fire roared through Paradise, indiscriminately devastating homes, businesses and lives. After the fire, the Paradise Chocolate Fest could have easily faded into nostalgic memory. After all, many of the festival’s suppliers, supporters and participants, including Joy Lyn’s Candies, had lost everything. But the fire couldn’t burn away the festival’s mission. As Executive Director Debbie LaPlant Moseley says, “The Camp Fire has taken so much from so many. We don’t want our youth to lose their childhoods as well.”

Grant Townsend, Gold Country Casino Resort marketing director, sees this year’s festival as “not only a fundraiser, but also a healing event” as the Paradise community comes together. “When the fire happened,” says Grant, “we wanted to help in any way we could.” To facilitate Paradise’s large-scale reunion, Gold Country Casino Resort in nearby Oroville, CA has generously opened its spacious lawn for this year’s chocolate-filled delights on June 1.

While certainly focused on chocolate, the festival offers a variety of educational activities. “All About Books!” connects the community with regional authors, illustrators and publishers. “Art on the Green!” likewise showcases North State artists and their work. This year, the festival will also feature booths that acknowledge the Butte Strong and Paradise Strong efforts. These elements make the festival not only a fun time of gathering but an investment in connecting the community.

Because the fundraiser benefits youth organizations, getting the festival on its feet helps other organizations get on their feet as well. Since 2010, Debbie reports, the festival “has raised over $200,000 for 45 organizations that rely on the celebration as a major source of annual funding.” These dollars have enabled school groups and non-profits to sponsor student field trips; provide meals and vision screening for kids; purchase equipment for sports, music and computer programs; organize literacy events; offer leadership opportunities for kids, and much more. Debbie says this year’s list of beneficiaries has grown as a result of the fire as many organizations now must rebuild from the ground up. The festival will benefit 27 organizations, including Achieve Charter School, Gold Nugget Museum; Paradise High School Link Crew, Academic Decathlon and Athletic Teams; and Paradise Scout troops and packs.

Michelle John, the district superintendent for Paradise Unified School District, explains how the festival develops students’ responsibility because the funding their organizations receive partially depends on the hours the kids put in. Each organization receives $10 for each volunteer hour. “It’s a fair way to distribute the funding,” Debbie explains, “because even small organizations can rally a lot of volunteers to come help. It’s a great way for kids to work side by side with their parents and mentors to benefit the whole community.” After distributing funds based on volunteer hours, the board allocates remaining funds as merit-based grants. Youth groups can also invent creative activities to raise additional funds at the festival. Paradise High School’s marching band, for example, always sells whoopie pies, and the swim team has a dunk tank.

In addition to new beneficiaries, the 2019 festival has many new supporters who have stepped in to make the event possible. These supporters include Courtesy Automotive, Conroy Construction and Porchlight Realty.

Carol Peterson, a festival board member, describes the Paradise Chocolate Festival as “one encouraging step toward rebuilding our community.” Holding the festival despite the decimation of the town that bears its name shows the community that “events will continue— we’re not giving up,” especially since some activities will still occur in Paradise, such as the Chocolate Thunder Motorcycle BBQ held in the Terry Ashe Park, at the conclusion of the Poker Run on Saturday, May 18.

Bill Hartley reflects on how the festival has evolved into something much bigger than he imagined 15 years ago. “Of course, chocolate brings a smile to everyone’s face,” he says. “But I think only a third of its success is the chocolate. There’s nothing similar to this in the North State, the setting is special and the people who attend make it special.” Bill’s family has purchased a new building in Paradise to rebuild Joy Lyn’s Candies. Like the candy shop that inspired it, Paradise Chocolate Festival 2019 will, in Bill’s words, “be different, but will encourage others to see the rebirth of Paradise.”