Why wait till Valentine's Day to indulge in an overabundance of chocolate?

Especially when you have a whole range of area restaurants and venues - from You Take the Cake to the Hard Rock Café - whipping up chocolate-based delicacies for the Art of Chocolate this weekend.

The event, held Sunday at the Mystic Mariott, is hosted by Fairview, a non-profit senior housing and healthcare provider in Groton. The Art of Chocolate benefits Fairview's new Guided Journeys Memory Care Program and its unrestricted annual fund.

Among the sweet-happy and creative offerings on the menu: chocolate covered candied bacon and flavored chocolate bark from Zest Fresh Pastry; chocolate bergamot crème brulee foam and foie gras torchon, chocolate brioche, pineapple jalapeño compote and white chocolate from Foxwoods; and mini chocolate taco with port soaked devil's food cake, dulce de leche mousse and chocolate sauce, sprinkled with ginger snap crumble from Gourmet Galley Catering.

Patrons can listen to music from Marcy and Izzy of Sugar Free, and they can enjoy "mini spa services" from the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa. They can watch Chef Franck Iglesias from Foxwoods give a demonstration and create a chocolate centerpiece. And they might win a piece of a custom ring and pendant - featuring so-called chocolate and white diamonds - from Simply Majestic in Mystic.

- KRISTINA DORSEY

The Art of Chocolate, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Mystic Marriott, Route 117, Groton; $20 in advance, $25 at the door, $10 for kids; tickets sold at Simply Majestic, Fairview and Octagon at Mystic Marriott; (860) 448-4722.