Downtown Lowell was alive this afternoon as hundreds of people traveled to the five establishments that were participating the this year’s Hot Chocolate Competition. At each place, you exchanged a quarter for a 4-ounce Dixie cup filled with hot chocolate. One was served plain, another gave you a choice of add-ins ranging from M&Ms to Tootsie Rolls, a third poured on fresh whipped cream topped with cinnamon, another was flavored with Taro and the fifth added a homemade marshmallow,a cookie chunk, and a squirt of caramel. Each establishment had a ballot box and a supply of ballots. You circled your choice on the ballot and added your zip code. As of this writing, I don’t know who won. Here are the store fronts of the participants:

Brew’d Awakening, 67 Market St.

The Coffee Mill, 23 Palmer St.

Cravings, 65 Merrimack St.

Pure Fro-Yo, 108 Merrimack St.

Time Out Cafe