Attention, chocoholics! The first-ever Hawaii Cacao Festival is set to take place this Sunday in Haleiwa.

Besides samplings of chef creations, there will be a recipe contest, keiki activities, and tours of the Waialua Estate Cacao farm on the North Shore to learn firsthand how chocolate is grown and harvested.

Why cacao?

Because it's one of Hawaii's emerging agricultural industries, according to Pamela Boyar, who launched the Haleiwa Farmers Market with Annie Suite last April.

As Oahu's first green-inspired market, shoppers are encouraged to recycle and bring their own bags while buying local. The market also celebrates seasonal crops and aims to encourage more agri-tourism in the isles.

According to Boyar, the Hawaii Cacao Festival is the first of more special events to come.

“;We'll be doing this every year,”; she said. “;We've gotten more responses from this one than any other one. It's a winner. How can you go wrong with chocolate?”;

Indeed, the festival is gearing up to be a chocolate extravaganza.

Regular vendors at the market will offer a host of chocolate creations, ranging from chocolate cream cheese by Naked Cow Dairy to chocolate-infused soap from It's Soap, a chocolate strawberry candle by Aloha Soy Candle, chicken “;mole”; from Fresh! and chocolate ravioli with lavender-infused marscapone from LBar Pasta. Chef Ed Kenney from Town, John Armstrong from 21 Degrees North at Turtle Bay Resort and chefs from Alan Wong's Restaurant will also concoct chocolate creations to sample.

Additional vendors scheduled to participate include Hawaii chocolatier Melanie Boudar of Sweet Paradise Chocolatier, Wally Amos of Chip & Cookie, Chocolate Gecko Espresso and Malie Kai Chocolates.

All in all, there will be at least 30 different foods featuring chocolate as an ingredient, Boyar said. But every aspect of chocolate will be explored this weekend.

Skip Bittenbender from the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources will demonstrate how to make chocolate-infused liquor, and visitors can even buy a cacao tree to plant at home, with sales benefiting the Urban Garden Center.

VISITORS TO the Hawaii Cacao Festival can also hop on a shuttle bus to the Waialua Estate Cacao orchard, which is about 15 minutes away. The shuttle ride is free.

The orchard, which sits on 20 acres of former sugar cane land run by the Dole Food Co., offers an opportunity to stroll among cacao trees and learn firsthand where chocolate comes from.

Cacao pods grow on trees and ripen into hues of red and orange. Each pod is full of seeds, which are pulled out and processed into chocolate. Visitors may even be able to sample cacao beans from freshly ripe pods.

The Waialua Estate sends its cacao to be processed into chocolate bars by the Guittard Chocolate Co. of San Francisco.

Waialua Estate dark chocolate, featuring dark cherry, berry and raisin flavors, is sold at Whole Foods Market at Kahala Mall and Sweet Paradise Chocolatier in Kailua.

Another highlight of the festival will be the Cacao & Chocolate Recipe Contest. There are five categories: baked goods, confections, savory, keiki creation and Hawaiian chocolate. So far, at least 35 contestants have entered submissions.

The winning recipes will be gathered for a cookbook, according to Boyar.

Several more festivals are planned for the Haleiwa Farmers Market, held every Sunday, in coming months. Future festivals will celebrate tropical flowers, tomatoes, tropical fruits, taro and herbs.