Calgary Meals on Wheels is hosting the YYC Ice Cream Fest for its third consecutive year after a successful launch in 2022. Running from July 19 until Aug. 5, the YYC Ice Cream Fest features different ice cream items that can be found in multiple locations from businesses across Calgary. For each featured item sold, one to three dollars will be donated to Calgary Meals on Wheels, who provide nutritious foods to Calgarians in need.
Participating businesses will have a chance to win the festival’s titles of YYC’s Best Scoop for the highest rated ice cream, the Golden Scoop for the most treats sold or the Best Non-Dairy Scoop.
Brittney Edge, the marketing and communications coordinator of Calgary Meals on Wheels, says she’s looking forward to how this year’s food festival will unfold.
“People have really, really gone for it this year, and I’m so excited and happy to see that. And we have more non-dairy entries, which is excellent for us lactose intolerant folks that want to eat all the ice cream but can’t,” Edge says.
Sirine Berrached, owner of 8Cakes, says this is the first time 8Cakes is participating in the YYC Ice Cream Fest. After multiple years participating in the YYC Hot Chocolate Fest – its winter counterpart – Berrached decided to sign up.
Their featured item is called Fiesta Melon Chill. It consists of a lime tajín cookie wrapped around watermelon sorbet and some lime whip sprinkled with some more tajín on top.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different,” Berrached says.
Rein Trotzuk, owner of Apprentice Cafe, has been in business for over two years. Participating for the second time, this year’s featured item is Pistachio Baklava, a pistachio flavoured ice cream influenced by Trotzuk’s love for international cuisine.
“Pistachios, to me, are one of my favourite ingredients to use in ice cream, and I was looking through some of my recipes from culinary school that used pistachios,” Trotzuk said when explaining the inspiration behind the Pistachio Baklava.
This year the festival is introducing a new prize, called the Community Champion Award. The award will be given to a community member who shares their experiences at the festival and promotes local businesses in Calgary. At the end of the festival, the winner will be given a small prize from Calgary’s Meals on Wheels sponsors.
“We just want to kind of give back and give recognition to the people who make the Fest what it is,” Edge says.