Texas summer can be hot, but it seems as if this summer is HOT. The 11th Annual Austin Ice Cream Festival is happening on Aug. 12 to help us beat the heat and cool down with a scoop or two of yummy treats. The event starts at 11 a.m. and will end at 10 p.m.
This year’s festival will include two live music stages for both adults and kids with music presented by KUTX. The lineup includes Suzanna Choffel, DJ Chorizo Funk, Adam and the Bull Shark and Interrobang, an eight-piece brass band based out of the University of Texas. Elizabeth McQueen from KUTX will emcee the event.
There will be plenty of activities to keep you busy throughout the day including friendly competitions.
Contests and Best of ATX Frozen Treats
This year’s Ice Cream Festival will crown the “Best Frozen Treat of Austin” among local frozen treat companies participating in the event. Celebrity judges for the “Best of ATX Frozen Treat” “Professional” and “Homemade” categories will include Doug Lyon (Ice Cream Fest Founder), Stacy Franklin(Franklin Barbecue), Trevor Scott (Host of CBS “We Are Austin”), Eric Silverstein (The Peached Tortilla), Kathy Valentine (musician/songwriter and member of the iconic band the Go-Go’s), Brandon Watson (Austin Chronicle) and Dawn Weston (Edible Austin). Winners of the “Fan Favorite,” “Professional Category” and “Homemade Category” will be named “Best of ATX” and receive a commemorative Ice Cream Festival spoon trophy.
There will be an Ice Cream Eating Contest for attendees to put their taste buds to the test as they race to eat frozen treats. There will be multiple divisions for half-gallon, pints, half-pints for the kids, team challenges and more. Lastly, there will be a Popsicle Stick Sculpture Contest for contestants to create a sculpture made entirely out of popsicle sticks either at home or on-site at the fest and enter to win. Information on these contests can be found here.
Admission tickets are $15 and include three sampling tickets to redeem at up to 25 frozen treat sampling stations presented by local ice cream, popsicle, shaved ice and frozen treat vendors. Children 8 and under receive free admission. Additional sampling tickets will be available for purchase. Early entry ZiP Fast Freeze tickets are $25 and will provide entry through a dedicated gate, access to an air-conditioned hospitality area and extra sampling tickets. More than 7,500 attendees are expected throughout the day!
Samplers and vendors
Ice cream samplers are H-E-B Creamy Creations, Central Market Small Batch Craft Ice Cream, Swoon by H-E-B, Amy’s Ice Cream, Austin Scoops, Thai Fresh, Dippin’ Dots, Moojo, NadaMoo! and Cold Cookie Company.
Frozen treat samplers are Shaved Ice Island, Snow Monster, GoodPop, Steel City Pops, Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs and Odd Pop.
The savory food vendors include The Evil Wiener, Burro Cheese Kitchen, DFG Noodles, Shake Shack and Shawarma Point.
Please visit www.austinicecreamfestival.com for more information about the festival. Tag your ice cream photos using #scoopsforall!
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Catherine grew up watching action flicks at a very young age which led to her love of film. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelors in Radio-TV-Film in 2012. Always the adventurer, Catherine traveled and lived in Sydney, Australia for a year where she took a selfie with Brad Pitt. She runs Shuffle with passion, lots of caffeine and tacos. When she’s not editing or writing you can find her crafting and planning her next adventure.