Downtown Pullman’s Chocolate Decadence returns for V-Day
Shopping local in exchange for a sweet chocolate treat has never been easier
B&L Bicycles owner Brice Erickson passes out slices of his wife’s homemade chocolate cake to people participating in the Chocolate Decadence event Nov. 8 at B&L Bicycles.
February 2, 2023
On Feb. 3, downtown Pullman businesses will have Valentine’s Day displays up in their windows and will be giving away chocolate treats for community members looking to shop local, said Willow Falcon, promotions committee chair for the Downtown Pullman Association.
Additionally, a Valentine’s card giveaway has been added to the fun, Falcon said. At each participating downtown business, participants can pick up one Valentine card, and five of the Valentine cards will have golden tickets.
“The person who gets the golden ticket won’t win a lifetime supply of chocolate, but they get a gift basket curated from donations from downtown businesses,” Falcon said.
The chocolate decadence began around 10 years ago when WSU design students collaborated with the Pullman Chamber of Commerce and decorated window displays for businesses around town, Falcon said. The window displays were then judged, and the public was invited to view the displays while eating chocolate.
Now, the design students are no longer involved with the window displays, and the event has been passed from the Chamber of Commerce to the Downtown Pullman Association, Falcon said.
“Most of the enthusiasm for the event happened downtown, so it’s been a fun tradition,” Falcon said. “We’ve also moved it from pre-Christmas to pre-Valentine’s Day as a way to get people back downtown after the lull after the holidays, so it’s nice to encourage people to visit downtown.”
Chris Chandler, owner of Neill’s Flowers and Gifts, said the event is a great way to bring people into the downtown locations that people may not normally ever go to.
“We generally have a sale or something attached to it,” Chandler said. “It’s just a good chance to meet new customers and bring more people in.”
Chandler said their flower shop will be giving out samples of their chocolates.
“From the perspective of the Downtown Pullman Association, it’s to draw people to downtown, and sometimes, you have to give stuff away to do that,” Falcon said. “And it’s just fun, I mean, golden ticket hunts, most people love chocolate and it’s a good way to encourage businesses to decorate a little bit and be festive because that’s just a welcoming thing to do.”
