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Many spe­cial days are com­mem­o­rat­ed in Oc­to­ber, like the World Teach­ers’ Day and Do Some­thing Nice Day, both of which fall on the Oc­to­ber 5. This year, to do some­thing en­joy­able, why not come to the Hy­att Re­gency in Port-of-Spain for the World Co­coa and Choco­late Day Ex­po and In­bound Trade Mis­sion on Oc­to­ber 4-5, and ex­pe­ri­ence how our na­tion­al co­coa en­tre­pre­neurs add val­ue to co­coa.

The pub­lic ex­po, host­ed by the Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre, UWI, will fea­ture lo­cal choco­lates, al­co­holic and non-al­co­holic drinks, co­coa based cos­met­ics and oth­er prod­ucts based on the co­coa tree. It will show­case the vast po­ten­tial the co­coa in­dus­try presents for lo­cal and re­gion­al eco­nom­ic di­ver­si­fi­ca­tion.

The Open­ing Cer­e­mo­ny (by in­vi­ta­tion on­ly) is on Thurs­day, Oc­to­ber 3, at the Hy­att, which will be at­tend­ed by gov­ern­ment min­is­ters, Diplo­mats, The UWI man­age­ment, stake­hold­ers of the co­coa in­dus­try, the me­dia and in­ter­na­tion­al busi­ness­es. A two-day pub­lic ex­po fol­lows at the Hy­att, from 9 am - 6 pm, on Oc­to­ber 4-5.

World Co­coa and Choco­late Day (WC­CD), start­ed as Co­coa Day by The In­ter­na­tion­al Co­coa Or­gan­i­sa­tion, the glob­al or­gan­i­sa­tion rep­re­sent­ing co­coa pro­duc­ers and con­sumers, was as­signed to Oc­to­ber 1 by The French Acad­e­my of Choco­late and Con­fec­tionery. This day ho­n­ours and val­ues the work of small-scale co­coa grow­ers; in­creas­es syn­er­gis­tic link­ages among all co­coa stake­hold­ers; and rais­es con­sumers’ aware­ness about the prov­i­dence and the man­u­fac­tur­ing of choco­late.

The Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre con­tin­ues to work to­wards pro­pelling a new co­coa econ­o­my based on val­ue ad­di­tion, brand­ing, niche mar­ket­ing, in­vest­ment and ex­pan­sion of the in­dus­try. The WC­CD ex­po show­cas­es the com­bined ef­forts of the pri­vate sec­tor in­clud­ing farm­ers, farmer groups, proces­sors, choco­latiers, man­u­fac­tur­ers of soap and cos­met­ics, agro­tourism op­er­a­tors, gov­ern­men­tal or­gan­i­sa­tions in­clud­ing the Co­coa De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny of T&T Lim­it­ed, the Min­istries and/or state boards re­spon­si­ble for agri­cul­ture, tourism and their or­gans, the non-gov­ern­men­tal sec­tor, the Uni­ver­si­ty of T&T and the Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre of The UWI. This year, in ad­di­tion to the Ex­po, there will be in­bound trade mis­sions and busi­ness-to-busi­ness meet­ings to link our en­tre­pre­neurs with niche bou­tiques, co­coa buy­ers and choco­late re­tail­ers from the me­trop­o­lis­es of the world.

In ad­di­tion to the ex­hi­bi­tion of choco­late and co­coa prod­ucts, the Ex­po will fea­ture two In­no­va­tions in Choco­late Cui­sine com­pe­ti­tions, the Ju­nior event (4H Club) on Thurs­day and the Se­nior event on Fri­day. Sign up for tours of var­i­ous co­coa es­tates post-ex­po, at­tend in­for­ma­tion­al ses­sions on the sci­ence of im­prov­ing co­coa busi­ness­es, en­joy choco­late-rum pair­ings and ex­pe­ri­ence choco­late artistry by French Mas­ter Chef Reg­is. Tick­ets for the Choco­late-Rum Pair­ing and the Choco­late Demon­stra­tion are avail­able sep­a­rate­ly (https://trel­lo.com/c/ybJ1eb­Sf/75-choco­late-de­mo).

Pri­vate one-to-one Busi­ness to Busi­ness meet­ings will be arranged to link lo­cal and re­gion­al choco­latiers/ mi­crolot co­coa farm­ers with in­ter­na­tion­al bean buy­ers, bou­tique choco­latiers and co­coa equip­ment sup­pli­ers from Japan, Eu­rope and North Amer­i­ca. The World Co­coa and Choco­late Day Ex­po at the Hy­att will pro­vide T&T’s co­coa bean pro­duc­ers, sup­pli­ers and proces­sors with greater eco­nom­ic pos­si­bil­i­ties and the pub­lic a mem­o­rable choco­late ex­pe­ri­ence.

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Ad­mis­sion to the World Co­coa and Choco­late Day Ex­po and In­bound Trade Mis­sion is $20 for the gen­er­al pub­lic and $200 for reg­is­tered schools.

In­for­ma­tion for schools to reg­is­ter is avail­able at the Trel­lo card (https://trel­lo.com/c/p6IYY­cC3/28-in­for­ma­tion-for-schools) with reg­is­tra­tion links at https://goo.gl/forms/nCYvk­BaS­biLf5eIp2 or https://cr­cwebm.type­form.com/to/NHtkdM.

For de­tails or up­dates please vis­it https://sta.uwi.edu/cru/Co­coa­Choco­late­Fest.asp, https://face­book.com/co­coa­cen­tre, or email in­fo@co­coa­cen­tre.com

Many spe­cial days are com­mem­o­rat­ed in Oc­to­ber, like the World Teach­ers’ Day and Do Some­thing Nice Day, both of which fall on the Oc­to­ber 5. This year, to do some­thing en­joy­able, why not come to the Hy­att Re­gency in Port-of-Spain for the World Co­coa and Choco­late Day Ex­po and In­bound Trade Mis­sion on Oc­to­ber 4-5, and ex­pe­ri­ence how our na­tion­al co­coa en­tre­pre­neurs add val­ue to co­coa.

The pub­lic ex­po, host­ed by the Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre, UWI, will fea­ture lo­cal choco­lates, al­co­holic and non-al­co­holic drinks, co­coa based cos­met­ics and oth­er prod­ucts based on the co­coa tree. It will show­case the vast po­ten­tial the co­coa in­dus­try presents for lo­cal and re­gion­al eco­nom­ic di­ver­si­fi­ca­tion.

The Open­ing Cer­e­mo­ny (by in­vi­ta­tion on­ly) is on Thurs­day, Oc­to­ber 3, at the Hy­att, which will be at­tend­ed by gov­ern­ment min­is­ters, Diplo­mats, The UWI man­age­ment, stake­hold­ers of the co­coa in­dus­try, the me­dia and in­ter­na­tion­al busi­ness­es. A two-day pub­lic ex­po fol­lows at the Hy­att, from 9 am - 6 pm, on Oc­to­ber 4-5.

World Co­coa and Choco­late Day (WC­CD), start­ed as Co­coa Day by The In­ter­na­tion­al Co­coa Or­gan­i­sa­tion, the glob­al or­gan­i­sa­tion rep­re­sent­ing co­coa pro­duc­ers and con­sumers, was as­signed to Oc­to­ber 1 by The French Acad­e­my of Choco­late and Con­fec­tionery. This day ho­n­ours and val­ues the work of small-scale co­coa grow­ers; in­creas­es syn­er­gis­tic link­ages among all co­coa stake­hold­ers; and rais­es con­sumers’ aware­ness about the prov­i­dence and the man­u­fac­tur­ing of choco­late.

The Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre con­tin­ues to work to­wards pro­pelling a new co­coa econ­o­my based on val­ue ad­di­tion, brand­ing, niche mar­ket­ing, in­vest­ment and ex­pan­sion of the in­dus­try. The WC­CD ex­po show­cas­es the com­bined ef­forts of the pri­vate sec­tor in­clud­ing farm­ers, farmer groups, proces­sors, choco­latiers, man­u­fac­tur­ers of soap and cos­met­ics, agro-tourism op­er­a­tors, gov­ern­men­tal or­gan­i­sa­tions in­clud­ing the Co­coa De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny of T&T Lim­it­ed, the Min­istries and/or state boards re­spon­si­ble for agri­cul­ture, tourism and their or­gans, the non-gov­ern­men­tal sec­tor, the Uni­ver­si­ty of T&T and the Co­coa Re­search Cen­tre of The UWI. This year, in ad­di­tion to the Ex­po, there will be in­bound trade mis­sions and busi­ness-to-busi­ness meet­ings to link our en­tre­pre­neurs with niche bou­tiques, co­coa buy­ers and choco­late re­tail­ers from the me­trop­o­lis­es of the world.

In ad­di­tion to the ex­hi­bi­tion of choco­late and co­coa prod­ucts, the Ex­po will fea­ture two In­no­va­tions in Choco­late Cui­sine com­pe­ti­tions, the Ju­nior event (4H Club) on Thurs­day and the Se­nior event on Fri­day. Sign up for tours of var­i­ous co­coa es­tates post-ex­po, at­tend in­for­ma­tion­al ses­sions on the sci­ence of im­prov­ing co­coa busi­ness­es, en­joy choco­late-rum pair­ings and ex­pe­ri­ence choco­late artistry by French Mas­ter Chef Reg­is. Tick­ets for the Choco­late-Rum Pair­ing and the Choco­late Demon­stra­tion are avail­able sep­a­rate­ly (https://trel­lo.com/c/ybJ1eb­Sf/75-choco­late-de­mo).

Pri­vate one-to-one Busi­ness to Busi­ness meet­ings will be arranged to link lo­cal and re­gion­al choco­latiers/ mi­crolot co­coa farm­ers with in­ter­na­tion­al bean buy­ers, bou­tique choco­latiers and co­coa equip­ment sup­pli­ers from Japan, Eu­rope and North Amer­i­ca. The World Co­coa and Choco­late Day Ex­po at the Hy­att will pro­vide T&T’s co­coa bean pro­duc­ers, sup­pli­ers and proces­sors with greater eco­nom­ic pos­si­bil­i­ties and the pub­lic a mem­o­rable choco­late ex­pe­ri­ence.

For de­tails or up­dates please vis­it https://sta.uwi.edu/cru/Co­coa­Choco­late­Fest.asp, https://face­book.com/co­coa­cen­tre, or email in­fo@co­coa­cen­tre.com