Reservations Due By Feb. 19—

Chocolate Dinner Will Celebrate

A Global Passion

WATERBURY — New Morning Natural & Organic will present its Fourth Annual Chocolate Dinner on Saturday, February 24.

This year’s event will take place at Chase Collegiate School, 565 Chase Parkway, and will run from 6 to 9:30 pm. The event, “An Evening of Dark Chocolate,” will once again benefit the education and environmental programs of the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury. The programs provide land experiences to area teenagers and adults.

This year’s menu presents an international flair — with African, Asian and Southwestern influences — created by New Morning’s Executive Chef Carol Byer-Alcorace. The theme is Fair Trade, or how  to enjoy sinfully delicious dark organic chocolate with a clear conscience.

Guest speakers will be Naren and Gun Sonpal, owners of Coffee-Tea-Etc, LLC, local coffee roasters. Naren served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, where he worked with coffee and tea growing cooperatives. The cacao bean comes from the same parts of the world and is harvested in similar fashion to coffee.

Organic Vintages, The Bantam Bread Company and Coffee-Tea-Etc. are all donating wines, bread and hot beverages for the dinner.

A musical trio featuring internationally acclaimed musicians Dirck Westervelt, Abdoulaye Alhassane and Banning Eyre will perform from a selection of northern Mali and Niger music, on traditional instruments.

Guests will enjoy organic wines, hosted by Organic Vintages and the crusty whole grain breads of Bantam Bread Company.

This year, New Morning will introduce a new baker and Ghana native, Esi Eyiah, who’s creating chocolate ginger snap cookies in the shape of doves, for advance celebrity signing. The cookies will inaugurate a silent auction for guests to bid on during the evening.

Tickets are $60 per person. Reservations are available for full tables of ten if paid in advance. All net proceeds will be donated to the Audubon center.

For ticket reservations, call Gene Banks at New Morning Store, 203-263-0673, extension 360. Visit NewMorn.com for updates. Note that deadline for reservations is February 19.