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Museum retires Chocolate Bash after 25 years

February 19, 2013

Marmian Grimes

Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
2/19/13

After 25 years of featuring the creative culinary talents of the Fairbanks community, the University of Alaska Museum of the North is retiring the Chocolate Bash.

Interim director Aldona Jonaitis decided to end the event — which had become more a labor of love than a reliable source of income — after reviewing the museum’s revenues and staff resources.

“We want to thank the generous vendors who have donated their chocolate and their time over the years,” Jonaitis said. “From Bobby’s Downtown and the Pumphouse to the Alaska Coffee Roasting Company and the Westmark Hotel, these visionaries have inspired and tempted us with their creations. We’re going to miss them.”

The Chocolate Bash has been the primary fundraising event for the museum’s endowment fund since 1985. The event took a hiatus in 2004 during construction on the museum’s new wing and again in 2009, due to a downturn in the economy. Despite recent attempts to revive the Chocolate Bash, revenues last year were much lower than anticipated, which led to the decision to retire the event.