Paint the town brown during ChoctoberFest

Love chocolate? Get your fix during ChoctoberFest Friday and Saturday at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, I-25 and Belleview.

ChoctoberFest, which turns a fall weekend into one long, miasmic cacao high, as hopped-up chocoholics snake from booth to booth tasting chocolate of every ilk, from dark and pure to sweet and milky, gooey to waxy smooth, with nuts, infused with tea, slathered on cakes, infused into wine/beer/liquor, baked into brownies and artfully rolled into rich melty truffles.

The Friday Chocolate Happy Hour, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the hotel’s atrium, kicks off an all-chocolate evening till 10 p.m. Saturday’s hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Halloween activities both days include Andrew Novick’s Extreme Chocolate Zombie Delectables and costume contests, a live chocolate-themed wedding, chocolates paired with wine and beer and cooking demos.

Tickets are $5 for admission only; $10 for 12 chocolate samples and $20 for 25 samples. A precent of the profits will benefit The Action Center Food Pantry to benefit needy families.

For tickets, go to www.chocolatefests.org.