Hattem turns its centre into a chocolate route for a day

Editors · 9 October 2026

The fourteenth Chocolate Festival takes place on 17 October. Participants are spread from Kerkplein to Kruisstraat, and admission is free.

Hattem’s Dijkpoort in 2025; this is not a photograph of the Chocolate Festival. · Photo: Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image

On Saturday 17 October 2026, Hattem’s town centre hosts its fourteenth Chocolate Festival. The organiser announces free admission and the participants’ flyer gives the time as 11 am to 5 pm. The municipality has published an event permit for that date.

The flyer shows that this is not confined to one square. Bonbon Atelier A3 has locations on Kruisstraat and Kerkplein, while stalls also appear on Achterstraat, Ridderstraat and Kerkstraat. The baking area is marked near the junction of Schipperswal and Geldersedijk.

Visit Hattem lists workshops, artists painting or sculpting in chocolate, and a children’s activity making hairstyles with chocolate, sprinkles and marshmallows. The flyer names baking-area participants, including two marked Kids. The exact number of former contestants is not consistent across the sources.

Markt 1 in Hattem in 2021; no festival stall is shown. · Photo: Agnes Monkelbaan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image

The festival is held every two years. According to RTV Hattem, the first edition took place in October 2001 and the town celebrated its thirteenth in 2024. This fourteenth edition is a return, not an annual fixture.

Visitors can follow the organiser’s current route; Visit Hattem’s public agenda confirms the 11 am to 5 pm hours. The permit has been published but gives no traffic arrangements. The Dijkpoort and market buildings in our photographs show Hattem, not the festival itself.