7 ways to put more ice cream in your summer

If your summer isn’t packed with ice cream, then you’re doing it wrong. Get the scoop on these events that’ll fill the hottest time of year with sweet relief.

Ice Cream Museum | Photo courtesy of @gemisabella

Museum of Ice Cream: Los Angeles, CA

On a sweltering day, ducking into an air-conditioned museum is always a good idea. Why not take things to the next level with a visit to this pop-up shrine to ice cream, which made its Los Angeles debut in April. Browse ice cream-inspired art installations, sample artisanal flavors and dive into the sprinkle pool—a vat filled with millions of colorful “sprinkles” made from antimicrobial plastics that’ll put your grownup mind at ease while your inner child comes out to play. Tickets to the museum are hard to come by (unless you’re Beyoncé), but here’s some cold comfort: Organizers may push back the museum’s planned August 15 closing.

New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail: Various Cities, NH

The Granite State’s dairy farmers want us to eat more ice cream, and who are we to argue? Through Labor Day, creameries across New Hampshire invite you to try their scoops. Pick up a copy of the trail map—which includes coupons for ice cream, natch—at highway rest areas, welcome centers and participating shops. Hit all 50 stops on the trail, and along with a few pounds, you’ll gain some serious bragging rights.

Gelato Festival: Europe

Food trucks carry this moveable feast to cities across Europe all summer long, where the public votes on their favorite confections by seasoned gelato makers and newcomers alike. In each city, the flavors change and the stakes increase. The tour winds it way through Italy, England, Poland and Germany before a champion is crowned at Florence’s Piazzale Michelangelo in September.

The Scooper Bowl will score a touchdown with ice cream lovers. | Credit Kyle Klein Photography/Flickr.

Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl: Boston, MA, and New York, NY

Are you ready for some ice cream? Then buy a pass to this all-you-can-eat event, which serves as a fundraiser for Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In addition to good karma, you’ll gain access to live entertainment, family-friendly activities and dozens of ice cream flavors from local and national brands. For the first time, the annual gathering comes to Manhattan’s Bryant Park, June 1 to 3. Then it returns to its home base at Boston’s City Hall Plaza, June 6 to 8.

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Austin Ice Cream Festival: Austin, TX

What’s cooler than South by Southwest? The Austin Ice Cream Festival. This annual extravaganza invites you to beat the Texas heat with frozen treats and a bunch of dessert-related contests: ice cream eating, Popsicle stick sculpture building and a homemade ice cream taste test. The 11th annual festival is set for August 11 at Austin‘s Fiesta Gardens.

Bring your Texas-sized appetite to the Austin Ice Cream Festival. | Credit Andreanna Moya Photography/Flickr.

Brain Freezer 5K: Burlington, VT

On July 8, show up at downtown’s Battery Park to run 1.5 miles, eat a pint of ice cream, then run back. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit People Helping People Global, so this is a win-win. Once your brain freeze subsides, head about 30 miles east for a victory lap around the Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour in Waterbury.

Atlanta Ice Cream Festival: Atlanta, GA

There’s a reason they call it Hotlanta. Cool off at this annual event that makes dessert part of a healthy lifestyle. Take part in the ice-cream eating contest, then burn off the calories with double-dutch jumping, a hoola hoop contest, and even a 5k walk and wellness screenings. This year’s festival will be July 22 at Piedmont Park.