Chocolate and Wine tasting at Schram Vineyards!

We will be at Schram Vineyards this Saturday, March 7th for their season opening day and the unveiling of their new tasting room. Schram will be releasing their new dessert wine, Last Course and we will be pairing the wine with our yummy chocolates from 4-6pm.

There will also be 7 beers on tap:

• Blonde Ale
• Cream Ale
• Red Ale
• Minnesota Pale Ale
• IPA
• Mocha Monkey Coffee Ale
• PLUS, a very limited release of their Brett & Barrel Sour Saison!

AND Filius Blue Food Truck will be on-site from 12-6pm.

Schram Vineyards is located at 8785 Airport Road in Waconia, MN. Stop by this Saturday to check it out.

And the winner is…

The holidays are over. New Year’s has come and gone. So, what’s the next chance to get together with friends and family and indulge a little? Award Season!

The Academy Awards are on Sunday, February 22nd. Millions of Americans tune in to watch the Oscar’s each year. It’s our chance to get to see Hollywood’s biggest stars all in one place and find out who is the best of the best. It’s also a chance to live like they live for a night and throw an amazing star studded gala of your own.

Oscar parties have grown in popularity over the last few years. If you are hosting an Oscar party, we’ve come up with some creative ways that you can incorporate chocolate into your party.

1. Create your own awards categories for your guests and present the winners with a giant chocolate award statue.

2. Use smaller chocolate award statues and gold stars as decorations.

3. Include truffles in your Swag Bags.

4. Create a candy buffet with a variety of bulk candies that your guests can snack on at the party and take home in customized container.

5. Have a chocolate fountain with an array of sweet and salty snacks, fruits and other goodies that guests can dip. We love using strawberries, pineapple, pound cake, potato chips, marshmallows, and pretzels.

Looking for other fun Oscar party ideas? We found some great tips and some really fun ideas to make your party a real winner.

Starry Night Party
Oscar Party Food and Drink Ideas
Oscar Party Games

Use a few of these ideas to throw a killer Oscar party that leaves your guests feeling like stars and you feeling like the big winner.

Shop Local on Small Business Saturday

Hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving! With Thanksgiving over, it’s already time to start thinking about those holiday gifts. Saturday is Small Business Saturday and shoppers are encouraged to shop local for their holiday gifts. Get your shopping done early and support your local businesses.

Our Laketown Chocolates stores are open and fully stocked with great ideas for holiday gifts and stocking stuffers. Find unique chocolate gifts, fun, holiday-themed chocolate shapes, gift baskets and boxes or you can even create your own custom gifts.

Waconia Store:
141 West 1st Street, Suite 2
Waconia, MN 55387
Open Saturday: 9am-4pm 

Excelsior Store:
270 Water St.
Excelsior, MN 55331
Open Saturday: 10am-8pm

Excelsior Store Grand Opening

Oh, D.E.A.R.

It’s that time of year again. When the guys pack up their gear and head for the woods to do some hunting and the ladies, well they go hunting for some amazing shopping deals. Waconia is hosting it’s annual D.E.A.R. (Divas Enjoying Awesome Retail) Hunting day this Saturday, November 8th from 9am-5pm. Local shops and restaurants will be ripe with great shopping deals and if you wear your BLAZE ORANGE, you will get additional discounts at participating businesses.

10am  “Accessorize Yourself” FREE!  Freshwater Community Church

(138 West 1st Street, Waconia)
1pm  “Accessorize your Home” @ Yetzer’s Home Furnishings

(33 West 1st Street, Waconia)
 4pm  “Accessorize Your Event” Holiday Appetizers and Wine Sampling featuring Schram Vineyards @ Mackenthun’s Fine Foods

(851 Marketplace Drive, Waconia)

Scavenger Hunt at Participating Businesses – win a basket of Waconia goodies!

Laketown Chocolates will be doing a FREE chocolate tasting from 11am-12:45pm (right after the fashion show) and again at from 2-3pm.

And get 10% off any products in the store if you are wearing your BLAZE ORANGE!

Learn more about D.E.A.R. Hunting Day here.

Participating Businesses:
AmericInn Waconia, Balance Life Therapeutic Massage & Wellness, Clearwater Clothing, D’Vinci’s, Ground Round, Hoppers Bar & Grill, Laketown Chocolates, Lola’s Lakehouse, Mackenthun’s Fine Foods, Mocha Monkey, My Happy Place, Premier Custom Apparel, Salon Trende’, The Saloon, The Stash of Waconia,  Trending Upward Thrift Shoppe, UFC Farm Supply, Unearthed Arts, VFW Post 5462, Waconia Brewing Company, Waconia Trading Company, Wild Bird Store, Willow Winds/Curly Willow, Yetzer’s Home Furnishings

Grab some of your lady friends and head on out to Waconia to hunt for some great deals.

Give Something Special This Halloween

You don’t have to be a kid to love getting in the Halloween spirit. In fact, we think Minnesotans of all ages go above and beyond when it comes to celebrating this spooky holiday. The city of Anoka, MN has been deemed the “Halloween Capital of the World” by congressional proclamation.

This year, give something a little special for Halloween. We are featuring lots of new items including several chocolate lollipops that the kiddos will be sure to love and our new Pumpkin Truffles for the grown-ups.

UPCOMING EVENT:

The annual BOOseum and Ghost Trolley is taking place in downtown Excelsior this Friday and Saturday, October 24 – 25, 6PM to 9PM each night.

This year’s event will feature a kids’ talent show, costume contest, music, food, prizes, and plenty of spooky stuff in the museum and on the trolley trail. All proceeds benefit the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society. Admission is $5 kids under 12, $7 ages 12 and up.

 

We’ll be there and will have lots of these Halloween goodies available for purchase. Stop on by and see us and get stocked up on your special Halloween treats for kids and adults.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Campaign with Chocolate

Campaign season is in full swing. The ads are starting to inundate our TV’s, newspapers, and social media, pundits are on the scene covering campaigns big and small, candidates are busy meeting and greeting, hosting town halls, debating, and going door to door to spread their message. Election day is November 4th and candidates are making the most of the precious remaining days to boost their support.

Need a little help to sway those undecided’s? Create a custom chocolate to promote your candidate or campaign.

And remember to VOTE on November 4th.

Halloween Party Central

By our last count, Halloween is just 37 days away. If you are throwing a soon-to-be epic Halloween party for kids or adults, Laketown Chocolates is the perfect source for all of your specialty Halloween treats to make your event both spooky and special. Here are some great party giveaways to help get the party started and send your guests home with treats they will never forget.

Haunted Halloween Kit, Item#KIT82000

The Haunted Halloween Kit (item#KIT82000) includes 2.75oz of orange and black Colorific Chocolate Bites (compare to M&M’s®), 1 milk chocolate candy bat, 1 milk chocolate candy owl and 1 foil wrapped milk chocolate candy pumpkin. Packaged in clear box and tied with black raffia ribbon.

Boo Box, Item#KIT82004

The Boo Box (item#KIT82004) includes 2.75oz of orange and black Colorific Chocolate Bites (compare to M&M’s®), 1 white chocolate candy ghost, 1 milk chocolate candy coffin with skeleton, and 1 milk chocolate candy Jack O’Lantern pumpkin wrapped in orange foil. Packaged in clear round box.

You can even create your own custom Halloween Kit or gift basket using any of our stock Halloween chocolate shapes or hand made artisan chocolates.

In addition to our spooky theme kits, we have a wide array of Halloween shapes that are perfect for party favors, game prizes or just to have around for people to snack on throughout the evening. From Frankenstein and vampires to witches and ghosts, we have 50 different Halloween chocolate shapes to choose from in a variety of packaging options like foil wrapped or packaged in a cello bag and tied with ribbon. Stop into either of our shops, visit our website or give us a call to get your Halloween party treats today.

Excelsior Apple Day

It’s so awesome to be part of two great communities that appreciate Autumn as much as we do. Nickle Dickle Day in Waconia last weekend was a blast! And coming up this weekend, Excelsior is hosting its annual Apple Day celebration on Saturday, September 20th from 9am-10pm.

Apple Day has over 100 vendors showcasing apples, food, crafts and oh so much more.

APPLE DAY EVENTS

Baking Contest
The baking contest has a number of different categories from Homemade All-American Apple Pie to Youth Apple Desserts. You can submit your favorite apple dessert for a chance to win a custom designed memorial pie pan. So get baking and get your entries in. For more details and registration for the Baking Contest click here.

Ad back to help judge this year’s baking contest is the infamously sweet, Marjorie Johnson, author of Blue-Ribbon Baking. Marjorie has gained the reputation of packing a lot of punch into her 4’8″ frame.

Apple Pie Eating Contest
What event is complete without an eating contest? Adult and Child contests will be held this year with the winner of each receiving a medal and a $50 donation to ICA Food Shelf. Register here.

Happy Apple Kids Corner
Enjoy lots of fun kids activities including face painting, turtle races, apple stories, launch pads, prize wheels, and hair styling. Located at Gary’s First Class Car Care. Bring the kids and have a little fun! Check out the schedule of kids events here.

Apple Day Stage
Featuring local music throughout the day and evening. Check out this year’s lineup:

10 am – Minnetonka High School Girls Chamber Choir
2-3:30 pm – Basement Kings
4-5:30 pm – Ornery Bastards
6-7:30 pm – 9Tomorrows
8-10 pm – Tim Mahoney

A Historical Walking Tour – A Visit to the Past 
By Darel Leipold
11AM – Meet in front of the History Museum, 305 Water Street – will last approximately 40 minutes.

Jake O’Connor’s Public House Beer and Wine Tent
Opens at 1PM

Click here for more details about Apple Day, a list of vendors, event sponsors and more.

Laketown Chocolates will be open and offering Buy One Chocolate bar at regular price and get one for just $0.05 or Chocolate drizzled gummy bears $0.05 each of 20 for $1. We hope to see you there enjoying one of Excelsior’s greatest events!

Nickle Dickle Day

Waconia residents are gearing up for Nickle Dickle Day, coming up this Saturday, September 13. Nickle Dickle Day is a Waconia tradition celebrating its 53rd year. The event is filled with tons of family friendly events and activities, over 130 arts and crafts booths, delicious food, music and entertainment, and shopping all over town with sidewalk sales and special deals at most local stores.

Other activities:
~Amazing Car Show
~5K, 10K, Half Marathon & Nickle Dickle Tickle Races
~3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
~Nickle Dickle Pickle Contest

Laketown Chocolates will be featuring a couple of 5¢ specials for you during Nickle Dickle Day:
~Buy one chocolate bar at regular price and get a second one of equal or lesser value for just 5¢
~Chocolate drizzled gummy bears for 5¢ each or a package of 20 for $1

The store will be fully stocked with all of our specialty and seasonal items as well. Caramel apples, sea salt caramels, fun fall chocolate shapes, and much more!

Location: City Square Park and downtown Waconia
Time: All day Saturday, September 13th (8am-5pm)
Cost: FREE (there are fees for some activities like the mechanical bull, bounce house and paint ball)

Click here for a full list of activities and events or contact the Waconia Chamber of Commerce by phone at 952.42.5812 or by Email

Hope to see you there!