‘There’s always room for ice cream’: Reading Terminal Market’s festival returns Saturday to help you beat the heat

Philly has a rich dare we say creamy ice cream history Which is why this Saturday Bassetts the nation s oldest operating ice cream shop returns to lead Reading Terminal Field s annual Ice Cream Festival on Filbert Street The annual festival has been around for decades although the original year remains in question Alex Bassett Strange the president of Bassetts Ice Cream and a member of the Bassett family s sixth generation is beyond excited for the festival calling it ostensibly my favorite day of the year Ice cream is such a nostalgic product he noted not only because his family has been serving it since It kind of takes me back It s creamy It s sweet It can be salty and crunchy There s inevitably room for ice cream This year s festival will bring together a smattering of local ice cream favorites from around town to the heart of the city According to Bassett Strange last year s festival attracted over people My goal with this ice cream festival has invariably been to bring all of Philadelphia s top ice cream talent together and bring in ice cream fans to experience the variety Bassett Strange stated I m hoping that somebody who comes to our festival gets a chance to try something and find a new favorite What to expect The Filbert Street Ice Cream Festival is sponsored by Bassetts Milk Jawn and All About Events It s free to get in and guests then pay as you go Bassett Strange revealed that he enjoys working with newer Philly ice cream makers like Amy Wilson of Milk Jawn Amy is a friend of mine and she is an incredible artisan I mean the ice cream that she makes is spectacular and she s been a part of this festival for multiple years he disclosed I m blown away by what they re doing And I m really proud to be in the same sphere as they are The fest is not only attracting popular shops around town like The Franklin Fountain Cloud Cups Siddiq s Water Ice Weckerly s and more but each local vendor will be serving a special treat such as ice cream tacos or rootbeer floats An ice cream taco at the festival on Filbert Street Courtesy of Reading Terminal Area Tubby Robot for example will have ice cream hoagies actual hoagie rolls with ice cream scoops for filling on the menu It s just something about that savory somewhat sweet hoagie roll with that ice cream Bassett Strange explained Especially as that ice cream kind of melts into the hoagie roll it s like this milk bread kind of thing that it s got going on and it s very good In addition to ice cream treats and shops coming together various Reading Terminal vendors will also be selling sweet items inside the industry That includes Sweet T s bakery s warmed up mini pies think apple and sweet potato that customers can enjoy a la mode with a scoop of ice cream Funtivities and more Reading Terminal s ice cream fest has a long history and past years have involved friendly competition between vendors like the ice cream games My uncle who ran the business at that time noted that that ice cream festival is where we had invited other shops to compete on different ice cream challenges who can make the majority of scoop as a large number of as maybe six-ounce portions in an allotted period of time Bassett Strange declared Accuracy counts for something there or who can make the prettiest cone with a panel of celebrity judges that would judge you know the symmetry and the scoops This year the only competition at the festival comes in the form of an ice-cream speed-eating contest The rules of the ice-cream-eating faceoff The contest will include four rounds at every half-hour mark of the festival There will be seats and each round is first-come first-served However if there is enough demand there may be multiple heats within each hour Contestants will have their hands tied behind their backs and will all be given the same quantity Then it s up to them to eat their scoops as fast as achievable to win The ice cream speed eating contest at the Ice Cream Festival on Filbert Courtesy of Reading Terminal Field Families can also check out kids events at the festival and dogs will be treated with pup cups That s not all Live demonstrations happening include A flaming baked Alaska tutorial with Flying Monkey An interactive cookie cone decorating station with Famous th Street Cookie Co A proper milkshake-making lesson with Bassetts A demonstration on how to properly taste a new flavor led by Bryan Soronson who travels the world tasting gelatos and ice creams And a great number of more you can check out here Soronson will be giving out samples and pointing out distinctions between textures styles and more People that attend that demo can then go out and experience all the ice cream treats that we have to offer that day and do so with maybe a new newly educated perspective Bassett Strange noted Philly screams for ice cream The Ice Cream Festival on Filbert Street takes place this Saturday July from to p m It ll be perfect to cool off during a weekend forecast to have temperatures likely in the high s While the festival is outside there will be tents so it takes place rain or shine For Bassett Strange and the thousands of attendees the day is a way to continue a family and district tradition and celebrate Philly ice cream history It s a chance to connect with the other shop owners and company owners and bring them into the Reading Terminal Realm kind of rub elbows with them and scoop ice cream he reported We are really proud to be around since the oldest ice cream company in the country and multiple great ice cream companies have come out of Philadelphia and we have numerous great ice cream companies at present The post There s invariably room for ice cream Reading Terminal Industry s festival returns Saturday to help you beat the heat appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY