America’s favorite summer treat — ice cream — is the star of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s most popular event of the summer.
The eighth-annual Ice Cream Sunday is set for 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 17. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children 17 and under.
The event’s first 500 paid visitors will receive a coupon for a free 5-ounce cup of Caliche’s Frozen Custard, which will be served at the museum throughout the afternoon. Visitors will have a choice of three toppings – chocolate, strawberry or mango.
The popular annual ice cream sandwich eating contest and race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., with registration beginning at 12 p.m. The age categories for the contest are: 4-6, 7-10, 11-13, 14-17, and 18-and-over. In the 4-6 age group, the child who eats one ice cream sandwich the fastest wins; in the 7-10 group, the first one to eat two ice cream sandwiches wins; in the 11-13 group, the first one to eat three ice cream sandwiches is the winner. In the older two age groups, the contestants will see how many ice cream sandwiches they can eat in three minutes. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.
There will be an ongoing living history performance, with a rural family creating and enjoying homemade ice cream in 1912. Museum visitors may make their own ice cream by rolling tin cans.
Aside from Caliche’s Frozen Custard, the Southwest Dairy Farmers and Price’s Creameries also are sponsoring events and providing treats. Other sponsors include Heart of the Desert’s Eagle Ranch Museum Mercantile, and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
For more information, please contact the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum at (575) 522-4100 or visit www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org.
