This year's Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, taking place next weekend (Sept. 12th–13th) at Ghirardelli Square and along Beach Street in Fisherman's Wharf, is expected to be the biggest yet, with more goodies and visitors than ever, and an exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, which Ghirardelli attended.

“We're going to have an exhibit showing our participation in the world’s fair," said Kym Hough, director of marketing for restaurant and retail for Ghirardelli. "It was the most beautiful booth imaginable. They actually had machinery in this booth and produced chocolate for the guests of the fair. They had about 400,000 people visit over the realm of the fair. They could actually see chocolate being made.”

Ghirardelli Chocolate building at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition. Photo: SF Public Library Photo Archives

This festival won't include bars made on-site, but will have photo displays of the Ghirardelli booth and news clippings from the 1915 fair. They're hoping to get video clips, too, Hough said.

"It’s going to be really a fun thing to launch at the Chocolate Festival," she added.

Look for the display at the Marketplace in the Woolen Mill building. After the festival, pieces of the exhibit will move to the Ghirardelli Manufactory Store at Ghirardelli Square.

Hough said that ticket sales are up about 23 percent from last year at this time. During 2014's festival, about 35,000 attended over the two days, and they're expecting to break a record this time. The annual event, started in 1996, serves as a fundraiser for Project Open Hand, which delivers meals to the elderly and critically ill.

"We have more vendors than we have ever had," Hough noted, with more than 65 vendors signed up to hand out samples. Look for treats from Fairytale Brownies, Three Twins ice cream, Feve Artisan Chocolate and more (participants are subject to change). If you're over 21, you can also get a ticket for the wine and beer pavilion to sample from the likes of Lagunitas Brewing Company, Rosenblum Cellars, Wente Vineyards and others.

Photo: James Hall

You can also watch live demonstrations, enter an ice cream eating contest and attend chocolate school with Ghirardelli's own "chocolate professor," Steve Genzoli. “Every year people come just for that," Hough said.

Photo: James Hall

Tickets to the festival are $20 online or $25 at the door for a chocolate tasting ticket good for 15 samples either or both days. A ticket for the chocolate tasting and wine pavilion on either day is $50 online, $60 at the door; it includes 15 chocolate samples, 12 wine pavilion samples and a souvenir glass.