Here’s the scoop: Al Lang hosts ice cream record-breaking attempt Sunday
President Ronald Reagan apparently didn’t have a whole lot to do on July 9, 1984 – that pesky Iran-Contra scandal wouldn’t come to light for another two years – so he turned his prolific pen to Proclamation 5219, declaring July National Ice Cream Month.
He further proclaimed July 15 to be National Ice Cream Day.
These designations had first been passed by Congress via Joint Resolution 298.
Sunday (July 18) is officially National Ice Cream Day this year. At 11 a.m., Beans & Barlour, the downtown dessert bar and bakery, will attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for most people scooping ice cream simultaneously.
Yes, this is a real thing. The current record is held by Dairy Queen China, with 270 participants in June 2015.
Sunday’s attempt will take place at Al Lang Stadium, witnessed and certified in person by an official Guinness World Records adjudicator.
What’s in it for you? The chance to be part of a record-breaking mass event (always fun), and free stuff: A welcome cocktail and rum-infused boozy ice cream for of-age attendees, and non-alcoholic ice cream offerings for everyone else, age 10 and up.
Participation is free, but advance registration is required. Find everything you need here.
“Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over ninety percent of the people in the United States,” read that presidential announcement. “It enjoys a reputation as the perfect dessert and snack food. Over eight hundred and eighty-seven million gallons of ice cream were consumed in the United States in 1983.
“The ice cream industry generates approximately $3.5 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. Indeed, nearly ten percent of all the milk produced by the United States dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, thereby contributing substantially to the economic well-being of the Nation’s dairy industry.”
Things change, of course, and ice cream statistics aren’t what they were in 1984. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, today’s ice cream industry has a $13.1 billion impact on the U.S. economy, supports 28,800 direct jobs and generates $1.8 billion in direct wages.
Then there’s this: “Fortune Business Insights estimates the global ice cream market will reach $91.9 billion in 2027, up from $70.9 billion in 2019 -a 30% jump in less than a decade due to the world’s craving for ice cream.”
The IDFA also states that American ice cream makers in 2020 produced just over 1 billion gallons of ice cream, up 6% from 2019. So far in 2021, things are looking even sweeter.
