UTICA - Activities combining the treats of chocolate and Valentine's Day awaited area kids Saturday during the Utica Public Library's annual Chocolate Valentines kids' program.

"Chocolate and Valentine's Day just go well together," Children's Librarian Miss Lisa Renz said of the theme. She has done a Chocolate Valentines program there and elsewhere for more than 25 years, she added.

The some 25 youngsters between the ages of 6-12 and their adult chaperones listened as Renz read the book "One Zillion Valentines" by Frank Modell to them. The kids played a chocolate-themed Bingo game where the squares were the names of different chocolate bars, winners yelled "chocolate!" rather than "bingo!" and prizes were mini candy bars.

Finally, they created crafts, including coating a plastic spoon with tasty melted chocolate and sprinkles and designing their very own colorful Valentine's Day cards.

Derrick Wiggins of Utica brought daughter Jayla, a Utica district eighth grader, for the festivities.

"I like that they do programs like this - we come out to a lot of them," Wiggins said. "I love how they always get the community involved."

"I like to make crafts and I like working with the other people around me," Jayla said.

Becca Swalgin, who attended with daughters Gabby and Victoria, agreed the program was a nice winter outing.

"I think it's great that they do this for the kids," she said. "This gives them something to do."

"I like to read books a lot so I really like going to the library," third grader Victoria added.

The Valentine's Day chocolate crafty event was more than just fun for the kids and their escorts - it was also a great way to possibly introduce some new people to the library and its world of adventures, Renz intimated.

"We like to get people into the library," she said. "Once we get them into the library hopefully they will get a library card and maybe check out some books, too."

The library is at 303 Genesee St. and open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. For more information on any of their programs, call 315-735-2279 or visit www.uticapubliclibrary.org.