On Saturday, May 29th, the Chocolate Festival interns and a team of volunteers attended the Women of Worth Conference to provide two tables set up with chocolate fountains. Nearly 800 women gathered at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver to experience a day of inspiration, empowerment, entertainment, and, of course, to indulge in chocolate.
The team set up the fountains, melted the chocolate, and prepared the delectable spread of fruit and sweets to be dipped in the chocolate fountains. The platters were piled high with apples, bananas, pineapple, marshmallows, soft pretzel bits, and double chocolate brownies.
Each table had fountains flowing with different kinds of chocolate. Everyone enjoyed being able to sample and taste the difference between the milk and dark chocolate fountains.
Guests enjoyed the thrill of dipping their selections under the streams of chocolate and experiencing the taste of the warm chocolate mingling with the sweet and delicious fruit. Another favourite among many attendees was dipping the chocolate brownies in even more chocolate!
Before the women headed off to the ballroom to enjoy the rest of the day’s events, the team handed out postcards and talked to guests about the Festival. If the chocolate fountains tempted these women’s tastebuds, then we knew they would enjoy all the chocolate at our events in the fall.
Thank you to all of our volunteers who made this event a success and to April Chan for capturing the excitement of the day in her photographs.
Meet the newest addition to the Chocolate Festival’s Summer Intern Team, Hifsa Arshad.
Formerly from Oregon, USA, Hifsa Arshad currently resides in the Newton region of Surrey, British Columbia where she has lived for the past 14 years. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Design at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) at Simon Fraser University. Upon graduation, she is considering pursing a master’s degree at the SIAT.
As an SFU Student Ambassador, Hifsa has volunteered at major events such as the annual SFU Surrey Open House and First Year In Focus. One of her hobbies is photography and some of her works were selected to be featured in the SFU Photo Show in 2009. The majority of her photographs are of events she volunteers at or places she travels to. Hifsa also enjoys drawing, reading, and playing badminton.
As the New Media Marketing and Graphic Design Intern, she is excited to join the West Coast Chocolate Festival 2010 team. This will be an excellent opportunity for her to build friendships and marketing skills to compliment her design skills. Hifsa looks forward to making this year’s festival a hit!
The Chocolate Festival is pleased to introduce its two new summer interns to the community. Upon receipt of a Canada Summer Jobs grant to fund each position, Chelsea Reeves and Julie Smith were hired as the newest additions to the festival team. Their roles within the team are:
Read their individual posts and check out their photos below.
Chelsea Reeves is a fourth year student at Simon Fraser University pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration Honors degree with a concentration in Human Resources Management and a minor in Philosophy. She has completed two previous work terms through the SFU Business Co-op program and is looking forward to taking on new and exciting challenges as the Human Resources Manager for the 2010 Chocolate Festival.
Born and raised in North Vancouver, Chelsea enjoys many of the outdoor activities the North Shore has to offer. She particularly loves spending time in Deep Cove and hiking the trails up to Quarry Rock. In her spare time, Chelsea enjoys cooking, reading, volunteering, and travelling. She spent six weeks last summer travelling through France, Italy and Greece and she plans to return to Europe soon to embark on new adventures.
In the future, she plans to pursue a career in Human Resources and her areas of interest include training and development, employee engagement, performance management, and sustainability. Upon graduating from SFU, she plans to obtain the Certified Human Resources Professional designation.
Chelsea is very excited to be a part of this year’s team and is looking forward to a fun and successful festival!
Julie Smith is originally from Calgary, Alberta, and has lived in South Surrey, British Columbia for the past eight years. For six years of her life she also lived in Oakville, Ontario. Travelling across the country has allowed her to develop an appreciation for Canada’s diverse range of cultures.
One thing that has stayed with her throughout her travels is her love of sports; specifically, skiing, soccer, and field hockey. She has been on the local women’s field hockey team, the Surrey Sharks, for the last five years. Being involved with this community team helps her feel like she is part of another family.
Julie has attended Kwantlen Polytechnic University for the past three years. She completed her Diploma in Business Management in May 2010 and will be applying to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration in the Human Resource Management program for fall 2010. Her future goal is to be part of a company as a Human Resource manager.
She has recently been hired in the role of Administrative Coordinator with the Chocolate Festival. To be part of the festival is an amazing experience for her. She hopes it will aid her in achieving her future goals and allow her to apply the skills that she has ascertained from her past experiences.
