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McLean’s annual Chocolate Festival returned March 15 after emergency weather forced organizers to abandon the event’s traditional late-January date.

The festival brought 14 chocolate vendors to the McLean Community Center, giving visitors a chance to sample and purchase sweets while supporting small businesses and local service projects. The McLean Rotary Club has hosted the community event since 2012.

Organizers have expanded the festival beyond its original focus on chocolate. Separate spaces now offer live performances and children’s activities, including games, face painting and coloring.

“We used to just [center around chocolate], but now we have entertainment [as well],” Chocolate Festival committee chairman John McEvilly said. Musicians return each year, he added, while the children’s room continues to gain new activities.

Proceeds from the festival help finance Rotary Club grants and represent one of the organization’s largest fundraising sources. In previous years, that money has supported scholarships for graduating local students, books for disadvantaged elementary schools and hunger-relief efforts.

Attendee Katie Lee said she had not understood the festival’s broader mission until reading a brochure distributed at the event. Learning about that purpose helped her see why the celebration attracts returning visitors.

The festival also offers participating businesses valuable exposure.

Jessica Ashkenazi, owner of vendor Mother Clusters, said the event boosts the company’s visibility—an important benefit for a small business.

Although the festival takes place only once a year, preparations begin about five months beforehand. The organizing committee meets monthly to monitor arrangements with vendors and exhibitors.

This year’s snowstorm created an unexpected logistical challenge. McEvilly said organizers had to quickly coordinate with the community center, vendors and exhibitors to move the festival to a new date.

“It was very stressful there for a while,” he said.

Despite the disruption, the rescheduled Sunday event drew both new and returning customers. Lee, who attended with her family, said she enjoyed seeing the community gather simply to have fun and plans to return with friends in the future.