This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
The State College Downtown Rotary Club will host its ninth annual Ice Cream Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, on the 200 block of South Allen Street in downtown State College.
The event, which the State College Downtown Rotary Club uses to raise money to distribute to areas of need in State College, will feature ice cream from Weis, Giant, Vale Wood, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, Ritchie’s, Meyer Dairy, ColdStone Creamery and Sunset Slush. Tickets will be $5 for five or $20 for 25.
The State College Downtown Rotary Club, founded in 1986, is a local chapter of Rotary International, a global humanitarian organization that focuses on service projects and community involvement.
“We try to raise funds and then we give those back to other organizations, nonprofits in the area. So it’s more of a community engagement event, to try to do something to give back to other parts of the community,” explained Brodie Dalton, a long-term member of the State College Downtown Rotary Club.
“To try to come together for a purpose to do something good for the community — Rotary, the organization, has many different clubs and purposes, but one of ours has always been trying to give back through many different ways.”
To raise money, the Ice Cream Festival charges for tickets that can be exchanged for scoops of ice cream. The ice cream at the event is donated by the local vendors.
“The generosity of these vendors, and donating their product, helps us to be able to get stronger as a fundraiser,” Dalton said, noting that sponsors of the event are also essential to helping the event grow. The new State College Penn Highlands Healthcare hospital is this year’s Hot Fudge Sundae Sponsor. Triple Scoop Sponsors include the Dalton Group at Morgan Stanley, First Citizens Community Bank, Arize Federal Credit Union, Reliance Bank, State College Downtown Improvement District and Wegmans. Double Scoop Sponsors include Foxdale Village, Kish Bank, the Jana Marie Foundation and T2B Commercial Interiors. Scooper Sponsors include Boxcar Music, Hugh and Janyce Mose, Steve Seltzer and Cindy Campbell, Ramada State College and Wyndam.
While ice cream is the main draw of the event, Dalton noted that there will be plenty of other family friendly activities as well.
“It’s a family event. It’s an event where you have the ability to get out of the house towards the end of summer. The first weekend in August, we’re coming close to the school year. It’s one of the last chances that you have to get out and do something fun with a family,” Dalton said.
“It’s not just eating ice cream. It’s eating ice cream and doing all the other fun activities that we have planned — getting out and doing some fun things before summer ends.”
During the event Daniel Tiger will make an appearance thanks to WPSU; “Let’s Face It with Emily” will provide face painting; Discovery Space will supply liquid nitrogen ice cream brownies for some extra science-based fun; popular athletes will make an appearance; members of local high school football teams will compete in an ice cream eating contest and more.
To learn more about the event or how to get involved with the State College Downtown Rotary Club, visit downtownstatecollegerotary.org.
