Minnesota Bed & Breakfast Association

With Spring just around the corner, what could be more divine than visiting inns, tasting chocolate and pairing up a local wine (at one stop each Sunday) with some divine handcrafted truffles?Pound the drums —it is the Annual St Croix Valley Chocolate March every Sunday in March. Every year for the last 7 or is it 8? innkeepers in the St Croix Valley have offered a variety of chocolate stops and even thrown in a historic site or two. From Taylors Falls and Osceola on the North to Hastings on the South, each Sunday has a different selection of four or five stops.  The first one March 7th includes Hastings (Classic Rosewood Inn and LeDuc Estate), Afton (Afton House Inn and Afton Historical Society) and River Falls(KinniCreek Inn) and Oak Park Heights( Cover Park Manor). The wine pairing is at Afton House inn. Visit the group website for more information and many of the innkeepers even share their recipes. The area has a nickname now (The Chocolate Valley) based on the fact that independent chocolate shops prevail in the valley amid wineries and inns— check out Creative Confecitonaire for example. You dont have to go far to be in the Chocolate Valley (and a little piece of heaven.) By the way a percentage of the profit goes to Second Harvest as March is Minnesota Food Share Month and donations are doubled that month. Tickets are $21 in advance or $25 at the door.   CAll 651-998-0185 for more information. Oh and one more thing, all the innkeepers in the group are offering a special package. Book any two nights in March and get the seocnd night at 25% off and two freie tickets to the Chocolate March. The Classic Rosewood Inn and Spa is even throwing in a Chocolate Almond Scrub when you order massages in March.