I Want Candy

Here we are less than a month since Halloween, and just over a month away from Christmas - two of the biggest holidays for candy sales. If you are already tired of sugar, or if you are looking for a way to enjoy your sweets vicariously for fewer physical side effects, there are several stories in which magical candy plays a major role.

Candy and childhood seem to go hand in hand. Roald Dahl incorporated candy into many of his stories. In 1964 Dahl unleashed the unusual, unforgettable, and uber-creative confectioner extraordinaire Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory upon the world. This story made into two movies, the 1971 musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005 with Johnny Depp.

In 1971 the Willy Wonka Candy Company began. Eight years it later became part of Nestle, providing versions of the Everlasting Gobstopper and the Wonka Bar, among other treats. You can enter an online wacky Wonka world full of Oompa Loompas various games and activities at www.wonka.com.

In Dahl's book The Witches (1983), the witches insidious plan to rid the world of children involves setting up sweet shops and selling candy spiked with Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse Maker. This was made into a film in 1990 with Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch.

Hansel and Gretel were captured by the witch in the Brothers Grimm story with the house made of candy. You can read an annotated Hansel and Gretel here, as well as view lists of modern versions and similar tales from other cultures. (By the way, if you find the short story Crumbs, by Esther M. Friesner, in a collection and you enjoy reimagined fairy tales read it. It is a sequel of sorts to the original story involving descendants of the witch and the children with a different explanation of what happened and a twist.)

Joanne Harris published Chocolat in 1999, in which Vianne Rocher sets up a chocolaterie in a small French village and shares chocolates that seem to have unusual properties. Interestingly Johnny Depp played a gypsy in the movie in 2000. The sequel to the novel follows Vianne and her daughter Anouk in Paris years later. For some reason, in the U.K. the sequel's title is The Lollipop Shoes, while in the U.S. it is The Girl with No Shadow, losing any reference to candy.

Clover is always giving Levin Thumps candy with unusual side-effects in the uneven childrens' series by Obert Skye starting with Levin Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (2005).

Four children get involved in a war between magicians who make candy that gives the person eating it temporary, supernatural abilities in the highly enjoyable fantasy novel The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull (2007).

Now, maybe you have read any of these books, or watched any of these movies by yourself, with friends, or with your family and you are now in the mood for some candy related activities. There is plenty you can do.

You can always play the almost 60 year old boardgame Candyland, especially if you don't mind the possibility of a never ending game trapsing through the Candy Cane Forest or the Molasses Swamp.

This time of the year, making gingerbread houses is always in fashion.

Go ahead and watch the 1939 film Bright Eyes staring Shirley Temple, and learn the lyrics to "On the Good Ship, Lollipop," which became her trademark song. (You probably won't be able to get the music out of your mind now. You are welcome.)

If you live somewhere along the Wasatch Front, this Friday and Saturday you can attend the 4th Annual Utah Chocolate Show and sample and purchase all kinds of chocolates. (Click here for more information.)

Now, if you are in Utah and looking for cheap (mostly free), candy-themed activities for all ages, here are some other places you can go and, in some instances, get free samples:

Mrs. Cavanaughs in North Salt Lake (click here for information about tours)
Taffy Town in Salt Lake City (click here for information about tours)
Sweet Candy Company in Salt Lake City (click here for information about tours)
Kencraft (Peppermint Place) in Alpine (click here for more information - I don't think they have tours, but they did have an observation area and a video you can watch)

If you are in Las Vegas, you can visit M&M's World next to the MGM Hotel, and even watch a free 3-D movie starring Red and Yellow after making your way through three floors of M&M merchandise (click here for more information). You can also take a tour of Ethel's Chocolate Lounge in Henderson (click here for more about tours).

Lastly, if you are ever in Utah travelling on U.S. Highway 89 between Richfield and Junction, you can stop at and hike Big Rock Candy Mountain, see the Lemonade Spring and even stay at the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort. Click here for more information.

If you pace yourself, you should be able to read a book, watch a movie, then go on a tour or to an event every other month next year. Have a sweet 2009!