Rushville, IN, Embraces New Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival
Dustin Cornett, co-owner and chocolate maker at Chocolat Café in Rushville, Indiana, began making chocolates in 2015 when he found his grandma’s candy recipes. Since then, he’s become passionate about the craft. He and his wife, Mae, relocated their business to Rushville in early 2024, and after being embraced by the community, Cornett knew he wanted to bring the festival he’d been envisioning to Rushville. Later that year, the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival was born.
The Midwest didn’t have a craft chocolate festival, Cornett says, and most of the ones in the U.S. are in major cities on the East Coast or West Coast.
“We were pioneers on two fronts,” he says of the festival, which was held for the first time in Rushville in late 2024. “We are hosting the first festival in the Midwest dedicated to craft chocolate and hosting the first craft chocolate festival not in a major urban area.”
Fest Educates Region About Craft Chocolate
In its first year, the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival brought in 24 vendors and more than 500 attendees. Cornett was the only vendor from Indiana. Other vendors traveled from different states or countries, including Norway and Honduras.
“The purpose was to celebrate craft chocolate from a perspective of agriculture and education,” Cornett says. “The area isn’t as familiar with how chocolate is made and where it is from. With this being a major area for agriculture, and craft chocolate makers typically wanting to highlight the farms in which they get their beans from, it seemed like a perfect connection. A Midwest farming community can relate to cacao farmers, and through this, we can educate them about craft chocolate.”
The festival included demos by chocolatiers, chocolate samples, workshops on the chocolate-making process, chocolate and beer pairings, and exhibits on the history and production of chocolate.
“The vendors were excited to see everyone’s interest in what they were doing and felt the warmth from the community welcoming them to Rushville,” Cornett says.
Though it wasn’t measured, Cornett notes the festival made a big impact on the local economy, with vendors and attendees booking hotels, buying gas, and visiting shops and restaurants. As the festival grows, he’s interested in finding a way to measure the local impact.
Rushville Community Embraces Business, Festival
The Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival is set to return Nov. 21-23, 2025, the weekend before Thanksgiving. The city even issued a proclamation, naming Nov. 22-23 the Midwest Craft Chocolate Festival Days.
The 2025 event will be held in one location at Love Community Center in Rushville.
“The 2024 festival was spread across several buildings in the downtown area,” Cornett says. “It was nice to be able to showcase the town, but it was a bit tricky to organize and have the manpower for so many venues. Also, it was risky because the weather could have made it difficult to go from place to place. We’ve decided to eliminate those risks/concerns and host it all under one roof for year two.”
The event is family-friendly and includes activities for kids, so residents from Rushville and around the region can make exploring the world of sustainable chocolate a family tradition.
Speaking of family, Cornett received an extremely warm welcome after moving to Rushville from Beattyville, Kentucky, and he is excited to continue offering this educational, fun and tasty festival to his new community.
“Originally, we wanted to move to another small town because we value peace and community,” Cornett says. “My parents are from Connersville, and they had mentioned Rushville was an interesting town, as it’s small, but leadership works together, and they think outside of the box. My family checked out the town, and we were impressed. I set up a meeting with the mayor and then met with some other local leaders. I liked the vision, so we decided to move to Rushville. Everyone welcomed us here, and we felt like part of their strong community instantly.”
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