The Chocolate Fest will be held this weekend, Oct. 5 & 6 at the Congregational Church of Belmont.
Emay Wang opened her Sweet Shop in the Carlmont Shopping Center in Belmont just a
few months ago, but the idea of the shop was born a long time ago.
“I was always mesmerized by any kind of candy I could get when I was little,” she recalled from her childhood in China. “The sweet smell, the bright colors and different shapes of candy, the beautiful candy wrappers. All this was imprinted in my memory so clearly that it just came to the surface when I was thinking about running my own business.”
The bright colors and perfect order of the bulk candy dispensers in the shop, located between Ace Hardware and Lunardi’s, reflect Wang’s childhood vision.
“My candy shop is like my own kingdom. I pick the colors. I do my own decoration with or without candy. I get to choose candies that would please everyone who comes to my store.”
She will be sampling some of those personal favorites at the 30th anniversary edition of Chocolate Fest Oct. 5 and 6 just up the street at the Congregational Church of Belmont. As one of the 20 vendors, she will be offering tastes of fine Leonides Chocolates from Belgium, and her sugar-free candy, licorice, gummies and sours will be available for sale in the Chocolate Fest boutique.
“I came to the United States 10 years ago for graduate school,” she said. “The very first day after my arrival, I accidentally walked into a candy shop in New York. I was like OMG! How lucky to be born in the United States! The candy shop was just like a fairy world. I wanted a candy shop like that one.
“The seed was buried in me, and now it sprouts at just the right time.”
Chocolate Fest Details:
- Fri. Oct. 5 & Sat. Oct. 6
- Congregational Church of Belmont, 751 Alameda de las Pulgas
- Tastings will be from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Fri. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. and 7:30-10 p.m. Sat.
- Tickets for the afternoon sessions are $17.50 pre-sale or $20 at the door; in the evening, tickets are $22.50 pre-sale or $25 at the door. Children and seniors will be admitted for $15 in the afternoons.
- Order online at www.uccbelmont.org/events.html or call 650-593-4547.
