Austin Chocolate Festival

Thanks for your interest in becoming a vendor at the 4th Annual Austin Chocolate Festival.

There are 2 ways to register as a vendor for the Austin Chocolate Festival:
1. Register and Check Out Online
2. Download, print, and return the Vendor Packet to us by mail

Legal Agreement:
By registering as a vendor for the Austin Chocolate Festival you agree that you have read and understand the terms of service below, and that you will abide by the Health Dept. regulations outline. Both the vendor agreement and the Health Dept. guidelines are available in the vendor section of the website.

Terms of Service (This is the only Legal Agreement):

Registration, Refunds, and Cancellation Policies:
If your registration is not accepted, you will be refunded in full. If you cancel after we have accepted your registration you will receive a full refund if cancellation is made prior to 60 days before the event. You will receive half of your vendor fees if you cancel less than 60 days before the event but not more than 30 days before the event. If you cancel within 30 days of the event no refund will be given.

Our Goal
The ACF has already raised over $5,000.00 dollars for Susan G. Komen for The Cure Austin Affiliate during the first three years of the festival and we hope that with the support of the community we will be able to raise at least another $5,000.00 in 2009. Susan G. Komen For The Cure is dedicated to saving lives and to ending Breast Cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all, and by energizing science to find the cures.

Whats new for the 2009 Austin Texas Chocolate Festival
More Tickets Available - there are now 4000 festival tickets available to the public
Larger Venue - the Monarch Event Center is large and centrally located
More Booth Space - each vendor will receive a 10 x 8 or 10 x 10 area
Premium Booth Spaces - spaces with 2 public facing sides are available for additional fee
More Vendors - we now have space for 40 vendors
Shorter Festival - only 11 hours open to the public
Cash Prizes for Competitions - up to $100.00 for the winners
More Internet Marketing - links and logo on 22 websites

albuquerquechocolatefestival.com
austinchocolatefestival.com
bostonchocolatefestival.com
californiachocolatefestival.com
dallaschocolatefestival.com
dentonchocolatefestival.com
ftworthchocolatefestival.com
grapevinechocolatefestival.com
houstonchocolatefestival.com
katychocolatefestival.com
losangeleschocolatefestival.co m

phoenixchocolatefestival.com
portlandchocolatefestival.com
sanantoniochocolatefestival.com
sanfranciscochocolatefestival.com
seattlechocolatefestival.com
theaustinchocolatefestival.com
thetexaschocolatefestival.com
neworleanschocolatefestival.com
normanchocolatefestival.com
oklahomacitychocolatefestival.com
philadelphiachocolatefestival.com

Opening Night Party Friday September 18th
There is an Opening Night Party Friday September 18th where members of the press and buyers from grocery and retail stores will be invited to attend as well as the general public. Vendors are required to load in on Friday and participate in the Friday evening event. If you do not show up for the Friday or Saturday event, your vendor space will be immediately given to another backup vendor and no refund will be issued.

Competitions
10 competition categories to be judged by the public and a panel of judges. Limited to 8 entries per category. Each Chocolate Festival vendor is automatically entered into the Best Booth and Most Popular Sample Category. Vendors must provide 800 small samples for each entry except for Best Truffle (Professional) and the Chocolate Sculpture competitions.

1. Best Brownie - Cash Prize $100.00
2. Best Mole - Cash Prize $100.00
3. Most Creative Dessert - Cash Prize $100.00
4. Best Cookie - Cash Prize $100.00
5. Best Frozen Dessert - Cash Prize $100.00
6. Best Chocolate Sculpture - Cash Prize $100.00
7.   Best Truffle (People's Choice) - Cash Prize $100.00
8.   Best Truffle (Professional Panel) - Cash Prize $50.00
9.   Best Booth - cumulative (Awards Only)
10. Most Popular Sample - cumulative (Awards Only)

Vendor information:
We would like for you to participate and compete in the 4th Annual Austin Chocolate Festival. Vendor booth space is limited so reserve yours ASAP. The pre-registration due date for previous participating vendors is May 1st. After May 1st we will begin assigning vendor spaces to new vendors. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to showcase your chocolate creations and compete against other Texas independent small food companies. Vendors that did not participate in a previous year's event will need to provide a brief presentation outline including booth decorations, description of their samples, and a brief summary about their participation in the festival.

Vendors will be assigned to their booth space by the event coordinators. The booth space selection will be influenced by the vendor’s past participation, and requirements (from the application) as well as the order in which the reservations were received. If you have special needs or requests (electricity, cold storage etc…) please make note on your registration form. You will be notified if your request cannot be met.

2009 ACF Costs
Booth spaces are $400.00 for both days. Premium booth spaces are an additional $50.00. The vendor fee can also be dispersed over time with monthly billing or automatically charged to your credit card on a monthly basis. If you would like to spread your payments please indicate that when checking out on the website.

Demonstrations
Vendor fees can be discounted in exchange for providing a 10 minute or more demonstration during the festival. Please indicate that you would like to offer a demonstration when filling out the registration form to deduct your discount.

What's Included
Participating vendors will receive:
- Booth space to showcase your sample
- An 8 foot table and white linen table cloth
- A sign for your vendor space with company name and logo
- Festival vendor identification badges for staff
- Opportunity to compete in 10 categories against other independent businesses
- Vendors will be listed on all promotional materials
- Vendors will receive promotion material for their retail locations
- Some food and beverages provided during the festival
- Wireless Internet access
- 2 complimentary tickets to the Opening Night Party for friends or family

Requirements
- Fill out and submit by fax or e-mail a temporary food service permit with the City of Austin
- Pay sales tax in Austin for any products sold during the festival
- Bring at least 2 staff members to work your booth
- Man your booth at all times during the festival

Chocolate Festival Timeline

Friday September 18th
2:00pm-5:00pm - Vendor Load In
5:00pm-6:00pm - Family Meal (Provided by Festival)
6:00pm-7:00pm - Final Preparations
7:00pm-10:00pm - Chocolate Festival Opening Night

Saturday September 19th
8:00am-9:00am - Breakfast (Provided by Festival)
10:00am-12:00pm - 1st Chocolate Festival Shift
12:00pm-2:00pm - 2nd Chocolate Festival Shift
2:00pm-4:00pm - 3rd Chocolate Festival Shift
4:00pm-6:00pm - 4th Chocolate Festival Shift

Thanks,
We look forward to seeing you at the Festival!