The 16th annual Homewood Chocolate Fest will sweeten an already delectable pot of goodies Saturday with a salute to the past and expanded kid-friendly activities.

Community events manager Allisa Opyd said the fest will kick off a yearlong celebration of Homewood’s 125th anniversary with photo displays of soda shops and candy stores that existed in the village during the early 1900s. Guests at the fest will receive complimentary treats of Cracker Jack, Good & Plenty candy and sticks of Wrigley’s Spearmint and Juicy Fruit gum, each created in 1893 when Homewood was incorporated, she said.

This year will see an expansion of the fest’s footprint beyond the Homewood-Flossmoor Auditorium. The Homewood Science Center will be open for Sweet Shoppe Science and Math. Young people will be able to choose from several pop-up science activities featuring entertaining and educational experiments involving chocolate.

Additional free activities at the Science Center include apron decorating hosted by Homewood Community Relations and a showing of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” in the Michael Wexler Theater.

The Chocolate Bake-Off Contest, the centerpiece of the fest, will begin at 11 a.m. in the Homewood-Flossmoor Auditorium. Judges will choose three winners in each of the amateur and professional categories before open tasting begins at 11:30 a.m. Guests can sample and vote for their favorite chocolate dessert entries for a small donation that will benefit the Homewood-Flossmoor High School orchestra’s trip to Germany.

Winner of the coveted title “Home Sweet Homewood’s Master Pastry Chef” won’t be announced until 1:30 p.m., but there will be plenty to do in the meantime.

Pastry chef Casey Thompson from The Cottage on Dixie restaurant will have a demonstration at noon and 1 p.m. Thompson, the 2016 second-place winner in the pro baker category of the Chocolate Bake Fest, brings a new approach to chocolate treats with her White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark confection.

“What’s great about this demonstration, as long as I have been working with this event, we’ve always dealt with dark chocolates or milk chocolates, so having this fresh, new idea of white chocolate cranberry pistachio chocolate bar — doesn’t that just sound refreshing?” Opyd said.

Chocolate and treat shopping also are part of the fun. Local and Chicago-area bakeries, candy shops and restaurants will offer wares for tasting and for sale.

The chocolate high doesn’t have to end when the fest closes at 2 p.m. Before leaving, guests can buy Homewood Business Association Chocolate Passports Around the World for just $1. The “passport” directs shoppers to a variety of stores in Homewood where international chocolates are waiting to be sampled while shoppers check out the unique and interesting items in the boutiques and gift shops.

“That’s the wonderful thing about our event. Everything is anchored within our charming downtown,” Opyd said. “It’s a fun day in Homewood.”

Ginger Brashinger is a freelancer.