By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Plans for a “girls day out” during the annual Chocolate Crawl in downtown Bowling Green hit a snag Saturday for three friends who showed up just in time to get the last two tickets.
But serendipitously, one of the three friends was lactose intolerant, requiring her to limit her chocolate intake on the tour of treats.
“I can get away with a little,” Kara Katterle, of Chicago, said as she watched friends Elena Flores-Whitinger, of Toledo, and Maggie Jackson, of Perrysburg, savor scoops of chocolate ice cream from Eric’s Ice Cream, one of the stops along the chocolate route.
The United Way Chocolate Crawl – featuring 18 stops with different delicacies in downtown businesses – sold out at 300 tickets. The proceeds from the event will support United Way’s work in Wood County, focused on creating youth opportunity, building healthy communities, and growing financial stability.
Those joining the crawl were given passports to get stamped at each location, and bright yellow bags to carry their chocolate treats.
The more experienced cocoa crawlers came prepared with their own plastic containers. This was the third year for Natalie Jenkins and Lauren Mercer, both of Bowling Green, to join the downtown trek. So they came armed with Tupperware type containers.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Jenkins said.
Of course, some delicacies had to be eaten on the spot – such as the frozen treats.
“I can’t put that in the box,” Mercer said.
Jenkins considered sitting out this year’s Chocolate Crawl since her home still has a good share of chocolate left over from Easter.
“I have so much Easter candy from my kids,” she said. “I do not need more chocolate. But here I am.”
After all, what’s a few calories when it’s for a good cause.
Veteran chocolate crawler Cheryl Konecny invited Theresa Boggs, both of Bowling Green, to join her during this year’s event. Like many on the route, they started out feasting on the treats until they had to start bagging them up for the road. Of course, there were exceptions.
“The drinks, you pretty much have to down them,” Boggs said.
Midway through the crawl, their favorites so far were the chocolate mousse with pistachios at Kabob It, the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bites from Call of the Canyon, and a delicacy from Get Inspired.
“It was supposed to be healthy, but it didn’t taste like it,” Konecny said. “They’re all good. We love chocolate.”
At the chocolate stop in the Coyote Beads shop, Peg and Amy Holland of Brown Bag Food Project were serving up 300 homemade Dubai chocolate cakes.
“These are so fancy,” one woman said when she saw the individually packaged rich brown and bright green cakes.
Peg Holland may have been the only person to lose weight during the chocolate crawl and its preparations. After three hours of baking the cakes, she registered two miles of walking in her kitchen, she said.
Lynette Oberhaus, a Brown Bag board member from Portage, said she convinced three of her friends to accompany her on the crawl. No arm twisting was needed.
“Say chocolate, and I’m in,” said Renae Muckensturm, of Bowling Green, who joined the treat trek with brothers Mason Benschoter of Cygnet, and Garrett Benschoter of Bowling Green.
None of the four pictured themselves sharing their chocolate delicacies with others who didn’t work for the goodies.
“I’m keeping it all for myself,” Oberhaus said.
While Dubai chocolate concoctions were popular this year, not everyone was a big fan.
Brian and Amy Houdashelt, of Bowling Green, paused along the crawl to try a Dubai chocolate mousse with Amy’s parents, George and Betty Reed, who make an annual trip to BG from Paulding each year for the choco crawl.
The mousse was getting rave reviews from the foursome until the Amy Houdashelt hit the bottom of the cups where coffee was lurking. While the coffee drinkers in the group approved, Amy was not a fan. “That was an unpleasant surprise,” she said, initially believing the dark substance to be fudge.
But luckily the group only had to walk to the next stop on their passports to wash out any unwanted flavor with the next sweet treat.
