CHOCOLATE HAS A NAME FESTIVAL 2026 - Halifax Townhall
Dates
23rd October - 25th October 11:00 - 18:30
Address
Halifax, HX1 1UR
About The Event
Join us for an extraordinary three-day celebration of culture, heritage, ancestral knowledge, community and collective wellbeing as the biennial Chocolate Has a Name (CHAN) Festival returns to Halifax, bringing Black History Month towards its close.
Under this year’s theme, “Until The Next Harvest,” we invite communities across cultures and generations to gather in a spirit of gratitude, reflection and shared humanity.
Chocolate has a name, a history and a people. Behind every cocoa pod are generations of knowledge, labour, resilience and cultural heritage, often overlooked in the stories we tell about chocolate.
Through ceremony, storytelling, art, cultural exchange and community participation, the festival creates space to reconnect with these histories, explore the impact of climate change on cocoa-farming communities and reflect on our responsibilities as consumers and global citizens.
A Significant Cultural Encounter
A centrepiece of this year’s festival will be an installation exploring the royal and ancestral belongings looted from Ghana’s Asante Kingdom in 1896 by British colonial forces, including the King’s Chair and other ancestral belongings connected to King Prempeh I, the Asantehene who was subsequently exiled to the Seychelles.
These histories invite us to reflect on the legacies of colonialism, cultural restitution, belonging and our collective responsibilities towards future generations.
Two fundamental questions frame our gathering:
What are the cultures that have shaped the world we now know and see?
And in our next pages and chapters, what are the guarantees of non-repetition?
These reflections are central to our ongoing life-affirming work of reparations, cultural heritage repair and collective wellbeing.
Festival Programme
Friday, 23 October 2026 | 11:00am–3:00pm
Sacred Golden Pod Breaking Ceremony
Halifax Town Hall, HX1 1UJ
Our opening ceremony brings together local communities, African Royal representatives, members of the African diaspora and invited guests for an experience of cultural connection, ancestral remembrance and shared reflection.
Through the Decolonising the Space experience, storytelling, ceremonial exchange, artwork unveiling and the Sacred Golden Pod Breaking Ceremony, we honour the people, histories and cultural knowledge behind chocolate.
The gathering concludes with reflections, ceremonial planting of the placenta and shared refreshments.
Saturday, 24 October 2026 | 11:00am–3:00pm
Festival Procession & Museum Opening Ceremony
Starting at the Piece Hall, Halifax
Concluding at Unit 4, North Gate House, HX1 1UR
Join our vibrant community procession through Halifax, celebrating cultural heritage, creativity, belonging and the relationships that connect us.
The procession culminates in the opening of the kooko & Chocolate Heritage Repair Museum, a significant milestone in our continuing work to preserve cultural memory, reconnect communities with their heritage and create opportunities for learning across generations.
Sunday, 25 October 2026 | 4:00pm–6:30pm
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service & Festival Closing Ceremony
Halifax Minster, HX1 1QR
We conclude the festival with an interfaith gathering of thanksgiving, reflection and collective hope.
This closing celebration honours the people, partnerships and communities who sustain this journey, recognising the importance of faith, cultural understanding, compassion and our shared humanity.
Who Is Welcome?
Everyone!
Whether you are interested in history, heritage, chocolate, climate justice, the arts, education, community wellbeing or simply connecting with others, there is a place for you.
We warmly welcome families, young people, local residents, cultural practitioners, educators, community organisations and visitors from near and far.
All festival events are free to attend, with an optional donation towards supporting the continuing CHAN legacy and our community heritage work.
Come with openness, curiosity and a willingness to listen, learn, reflect and celebrate.
Together, we honour the past, engage with the present and imagine more just and life-affirming futures.
Chocolate Has a Name. Every Story Matters. Until The Next Harvest.
Under this year’s theme, “Until The Next Harvest,” we invite communities across cultures and generations to gather in a spirit of gratitude, reflection and shared humanity.
Chocolate has a name, a history and a people. Behind every cocoa pod are generations of knowledge, labour, resilience and cultural heritage, often overlooked in the stories we tell about chocolate.
Through ceremony, storytelling, art, cultural exchange and community participation, the festival creates space to reconnect with these histories, explore the impact of climate change on cocoa-farming communities and reflect on our responsibilities as consumers and global citizens.
A Significant Cultural Encounter
A centrepiece of this year’s festival will be an installation exploring the royal and ancestral belongings looted from Ghana’s Asante Kingdom in 1896 by British colonial forces, including the King’s Chair and other ancestral belongings connected to King Prempeh I, the Asantehene who was subsequently exiled to the Seychelles.
These histories invite us to reflect on the legacies of colonialism, cultural restitution, belonging and our collective responsibilities towards future generations.
Two fundamental questions frame our gathering:
What are the cultures that have shaped the world we now know and see?
And in our next pages and chapters, what are the guarantees of non-repetition?
These reflections are central to our ongoing life-affirming work of reparations, cultural heritage repair and collective wellbeing.
Festival Programme
Friday, 23 October 2026 | 11:00am–3:00pm
Sacred Golden Pod Breaking Ceremony
Halifax Town Hall, HX1 1UJ
Our opening ceremony brings together local communities, African Royal representatives, members of the African diaspora and invited guests for an experience of cultural connection, ancestral remembrance and shared reflection.
Through the Decolonising the Space experience, storytelling, ceremonial exchange, artwork unveiling and the Sacred Golden Pod Breaking Ceremony, we honour the people, histories and cultural knowledge behind chocolate.
The gathering concludes with reflections, ceremonial planting of the placenta and shared refreshments.
Saturday, 24 October 2026 | 11:00am–3:00pm
Festival Procession & Museum Opening Ceremony
Starting at the Piece Hall, Halifax
Concluding at Unit 4, North Gate House, HX1 1UR
Join our vibrant community procession through Halifax, celebrating cultural heritage, creativity, belonging and the relationships that connect us.
The procession culminates in the opening of the kooko & Chocolate Heritage Repair Museum, a significant milestone in our continuing work to preserve cultural memory, reconnect communities with their heritage and create opportunities for learning across generations.
Sunday, 25 October 2026 | 4:00pm–6:30pm
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service & Festival Closing Ceremony
Halifax Minster, HX1 1QR
We conclude the festival with an interfaith gathering of thanksgiving, reflection and collective hope.
This closing celebration honours the people, partnerships and communities who sustain this journey, recognising the importance of faith, cultural understanding, compassion and our shared humanity.
Who Is Welcome?
Everyone!
Whether you are interested in history, heritage, chocolate, climate justice, the arts, education, community wellbeing or simply connecting with others, there is a place for you.
We warmly welcome families, young people, local residents, cultural practitioners, educators, community organisations and visitors from near and far.
All festival events are free to attend, with an optional donation towards supporting the continuing CHAN legacy and our community heritage work.
Come with openness, curiosity and a willingness to listen, learn, reflect and celebrate.
Together, we honour the past, engage with the present and imagine more just and life-affirming futures.
Chocolate Has a Name. Every Story Matters. Until The Next Harvest.
Performances
| Date & Time | Ticket Price | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 23rd October, 11:00 | ||
| Saturday 24th October, 11:00 | ||
| Sunday 25th October, 16:00 |
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