Confectioner Maria Marini fixes a bowtie to a chocolate marshmallow penguin. Nelson's Candy and Music in downtown Wilton is in the peak of making and selling holiday confections. Dec. 11, 2020.
Confectioner Maria Marini fixes a bowtie to a chocolate marshmallow penguin. Nelson's Candy and Music in downtown Wilton is in the peak of making and selling holiday confections. Dec. 11, 2020. Credit: Staff photo by Abbe Hamilton—

The holiday rush is well underway at Nelson’s Candy and Music on Main Street in Wilton. Owner Nancy Feraco and confectioner Maria Marini were hard at work making chocolate covered marshmallow penguins on Friday, a new item they are selling to accompany a picture book. “The more she lets me do, the more fun we have,” Marini said of the bespoke confections she comes up with to sell at the shop, which has operated out of Wilton for more than 25 years. “Her motto is, “I’ve got ideas,”” Feraco said. They’ve decorated the storefront with a Christmas village made out of candy, featuring a Carnival Hill sledding run with ribbon candy toboggans and a chocolate sleigh and reindeer, suspended in the air. Feraco expressed gratitude for the patrons who went out of their way to support the store during the pandemic.