On Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m., The AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) will present the 13th annual World of Chocolate ( WoC ) at Union Station, at South Riverside Plaza. Both AFC President/CEO John Peller and Jill Allread, one of WoC's co-chairs, talked with Windy City Times about this year's undertakings.
While Peller has been with AFC for nine years and attended WoC many times, this is his first time in charge. Allread has a long history of involvement with both AFC and WoC. Ever since she interviewed an AIDS patient as a young reporter in Indiana, she wanted to support the cause. "In 1994, my agency, Public Communications Inc. ( PCI ), was invited by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago to help create a communications program for AFC's 10th anniversary celebration," Allread said. "Ever since, PCI has provided PR/communications counsel and support to AFC and I have been an individual donor."
Allread explained the event's origins: "World of Chocolate replaced AFC's previous World AIDS Day event called All the Trimmings, which featured the sale of decorative ornaments, many created by people with HIV and AIDS and their supports. Decadence Defined is the theme of AFC's 13th World of Chocolate, an elegant, festive event that commemorates World AIDS Day and begins the season of appreciation and celebration. World of Chocolate celebrates our love of savory and sweet chocolate that puts nearly everyone is a fun mood."
Peller and Allread called WoC "a signature event" on the city's holiday calendar. Comparing WoC to AFC's AIDS Run and Walk and the organization's anniversary galas, Peller said, "We try to have a variety of events that are accessible to folks at every level that they're able to give. We consider the World of Chocolate to be a more mid-ticket price, mass audience event. The tickets are $125 for the basic level, and that's a little more accessible than the very fancy gala type event."
Money raised at WoC's supports AFC's general operating costs. Peller said AFC "continues to lead the fight in the Chicagoland area and also do work nationally, internationally, and also at the state level in the fight against HIV." He mentioned AFC's history of advocacy work with female condoms and pre-exposure prophylactics ( PrEP ), providing HIV testing and supportive services such as housing for patients.
Both Peller and Allread expressed gratitude for those who help make WoC possible. Peller mentioned that Callebaut donates all the raw chocolate for the event. "It's an incredible donation that is worth a lot of money, as you can imagine, and that really encourages the chocolatiers to participate and helps the event raise more money. Their sponsor is invaluable," he said.
Peller also explained how chocolatiers come to be involved. "We really rely on the co-chairs for that," he said. "Greg Hyder, with the Pensinula, does a lot of work reaching out to chocolatiers. There's also a lot of word of mouth among the chocolatiers and restaurant owners and candy makers. We also do outreach to restaurants and hotels and to small business owners to encourage them to participate, so there's really a lot of ways that we get chocolatiers involved."
Allread added, "the four co chairs work with the incredibly talented AFC team led by [AFC fundraising director] Rhett Lindsay. They do the bulk of the work, but we help by advising, planning, networking, making asks, and getting others people engaged. We actually begin meeting in May to discuss the venue, theme, ticket prices, sponsors, and most importantly what we can do to make the event new and fresh. Co-chairs have lots of meeting, so thank goodness we have a very fun team including Glen Pietrandoni of Walgreens, J. Ben Stringfellow of McDonalds and Greg Hyder of the Peninsula Hotel. We let Greg, who is a fantastic first-time co-chair, host all of our meetings at the Peninsula. As a result, attendance is excellent."
This will be WoC's second year at Union Station. Peller said, "It's always great to use a venue the second time, so you can get everything as close to exactly right the second time around. We were at a hotel for a long time but then decided to go to Union Station because we started to outgrow the space." Both Peller and Allread are expecting about 1,500 attendees, and Peller mentioned a raffle with prizes including "a date night for 12 months or dinner at a really fancy restaurant for two for an entire year, and trips to New York and LA."
Some chocolatiers who will appear include Mercat a la Planxa, mEAT on Chestnut, ZED451 and Chocolat Uzma Sharif. Allread said that she's excited about the event's "energy and new participants." Peller said his favorite part of the evening is to "see everything laid out pristinely before the hungry masses have started to get their fingers on everything. That's a good reason to get there early."
