The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Chocolate took center stage at the Cathlamet Hotel last Friday when the 15th Annual Charlotte House Chocolate Extravaganza opened its doors to a steady stream of customers for three hours and raised $1,470 to be used as a discretionary fund at the local domestic violence shelter.

“That’s the most we’ve raised in several years,” Susan Schillios, Charlotte House manager, said. “We’re very happy.”

The discretionary fund covers incidentals that other monies used to run the shelter won’t. It goes toward the occasional bag of dog food when a family comes in with a pet. It allows the kids to buy mom a present on her birthday, or vice versa. It pays for food and activities when a stay at the shelter coincides with a big event like Bald Eagle Days.

Along with the 23 local bakers who shared their favorite chocolates was Schillios’s friend who read about the event on Facebook and sent goodies all the way from Utah. There were cookies and bars and truffles and other treats all containing that one special ingredient, chocolate.

Customers sat at tables and tasted at their leisure or picked up to go boxes and discussed the selection with volunteers who loaded the box while they watched. There were orange slices for palate cleansing and poker chips to vote for your favorite item. This year’s winner was recent Wahkiakum high school graduate, Marissa Washington, with her Chocolate Oreo Truffle.

“My face is tingling,” Leigh O’Malley said, having had his fill of chocolate and a to go box in his hand, “It’s wonderful. It’s a good tingle.”

Kyli Prestegard, 10, agreed. “It’s wonderful.”

“We were pleased with the event,” Schillios said, “people really enjoyed the music and the atmosphere.”

Music was provided by Fred Carter and the event was sponsored by the Charlotte House Advisory Board.