About us
Every February, participating cafés, restaurants, and chocolatiers compete for the coveted titles of YYC’s Best Hot Chocolate, Best Spirited Hot Chocolate, Most Creative Hot Chocolate and special Cup That Runneth Over Award. Calgarians can sip a variety of hot cocoas and determine the blend that roasts them all!
How does it work?
Choose a hot chocolate from our list of contestants, head over during their business hours to try it, and then rate it to help us decide who will be crowned YYC’s Best Hot Chocolate!
$1 - $3 from every cup sold supports Calgary Meals on Wheels, thereby directly providing nutritious meals to Calgarians.
How to Participate
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Share your experiences for a chance to be recognized as the Community Champion
Tag us & use the hashtag #yychotchocolatefest
Download the app to stay connected on the go for Apple or Android
To vote - go to the vendors page for a link to vote for that vendor.
Are you a vendor?
For more information on how to participate check out our VENDOR PAGE.
Want to get involved?
Check out how to BECOME A SPONSOR or EMAIL US to talk about collaborations or volunteer opportunities!
Looking for more food fest action?
Join us for YYC Pizza Fest in the fall and YYC Ice Cream Fest in the summer
2025 Map
2024 was our biggest event yet!
In 2024 we had over 125 vendors and 200 participating locations. With your help, we are hoping to reach our goal of raising $160,000 to help battle food insecurity in Calgary. That is the equivalent of 32,000 subsidized meals!
Award Categories
Best Hot Chocolate
The top rated Hot Chocolate
2025 Winner - Apprentice Cafe
Cup That Runneth Over
The most sold Hot Chocolate
(determined by location, not business)
2025 Winner - Hexagon Café
Best Spirited Hot Chocolate
The top rated Hot Chocolate that also gets you tipsy
2025 Winner - Cravings Bistro
Most Creative Hot Chocolate
Most mindblowing beverage based on votes
2025 Winner - 8Cakes Bake Shoppe
Community Champion Award
YYC Ice Cream Fest, YYC Hot Chocolate Fest, and YYC Pizza Fest have always been amazing community fundraisers for Calgary Meals on Wheels, and your support has been invaluable! This year, we're thrilled to introduce the Community Champion Award as a special thank you to our online community who love sharing their fest experiences.
For the duration of the fest, our team will be on the lookout for enthusiastic supporters spreading the word about YYC Ice Cream Fest. The chosen Community Champion will be honored on our website, recognized for their amazing effort, and receive a small prize. Your participation in these festivals helps us raise the funds needed to continue our vital work in Calgary, providing affordable, nutritious food to those facing food insecurity. Thank you for being such a crucial part of our journey!
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We will be accepting collaborative posts from anyone - with priority going to participating vendors. Acceptance will be based on quality, content & frequency.
For example, if we get an influx of collaborative post requests featuring a specific business we will only accept a few. -
We will share as many stories as we can, again taking into consideration quality and frequency.
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Content with ratings. We adore when people share their personal ratings for entries, but we aren't going to share anything that could influence other folks away from an entry based on personal opinion.
Content with minor's faces. We love seeing your kids trying treats but out of respect and caution we will not be sharing to our social media. Please DM us should you have additional questions.
Influx of media for any one business. We want to feature as many vendors as we can, not flood feeds with one spot. This is just to keep things fair.
Is your media not being shared? Take a look at what is being shared and build your media around those examples for a better chance.
Thank you to our sponsors!
