Chocolate Affair 2023
On Saturday night, 500 staff, friends and neighbors walked the red carpet at the Lyric theater for a newly re-imagined Chocolate Affair! Live and in person for the first time in several years, we enjoyed an inspired night of films, fundraising, music, and community.
Relive photos from the night, and watch and share our original documentary, "We are a Mirror of Love."
We raised over $300,000!
On the coldest weekend of the year, you showed up and helped raise enough to support care, housing, and advocacy for over 600 of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We couldn't have done it without support from Health Care for the Homeless staff and volunteers (including 40+ members of our larger community).
We delighted in snacks AND 360° SPINS
We sampled everything from movie night snacks to mousse martinis—and we looked good doing it! Take a peek at the shots from the 360° photobooth and the red carpet step-and-repeat.
we celebrated baltimore filmmakers and toasted NEIGHBORS MAKING THEIR FILM DEBUT
This year’s film pairings explored themes that connect us to our humanity and related histories—covering topics including youth homelessness, food apartheid and land sovereignty, the "Highway to Nowhere" cutting through West Baltimore, as well as local Black business owners who share a love for their city.
They set a remarkable stage for the premiere of "We are a Mirror of Love," a title taken from a poem by Albert Miller that both opens and closes this film. Click the link below to meet Kiona, Albert, Athena and Spencer, four people who share the experience of homelessness and the refusal to let it define them. Each has thoughts about the meaning of health and home and how we can transform society by putting love into action.
WATCH "WE ARE A MIRROR OF LOVE"
The need to reflect doesn’t stop when the credits roll. Whether you felt challenged or inspired by the film selections, we hope you will continue to consider these questions:
- How has the community you live in today been altered by planned disruption and racist, discriminatory housing policy?
- Do the people most affected by today's problems—housing injustice, environmental racism, food apartheid, health inequities—have a voice in creating the solutions? If not, how can we change that balance?
- How many Black and brown creators, innovators, business owners, and artists do you brush up against every day? How can you lift up that work?
- Why do we allow people to go hungry and unhoused when we could all have food, shelter, and safety? Who benefits from the current system?
A special thank you to...
The filmmakers, community leaders, and partners who contributed to the night’s inspired line-up:
- The Youth Empowered Society (YES) Drop-In Center, the National Racial Equity Working Group, Sean Yoes and the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative, Eric Jackson and Black Yield Institute, Nia June, and Early Light Media who we worked with on We are a Mirror of Love.
- Board Committee Member Tyra Robinson, Chief Behavioral Health Officer Lawanda Williams, MPH, LSCW-C and CEO & President Kevin Lindamood for providing thought-provoking introductions to the night's films.
All of our event sponsors:
Thank you for making this year’s Chocolate Affair a night to remember.
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