Ice Cream Crawl to highlight coolest dessert spots
By Deborah Rose
The heat of summer is upon us.
The Town of New Milford has announced a fun way to cool down while also satisfying those who have a sweet tooth.
The inaugural Ice Cream Crawl will kick off July 7, giving individuals an opportunity to not only explore numerous ice cream businesses throughout town, but a chance to receive a 2023 New Milford Ice Cream Crawl T-shirt.
Mayor Pete Bass toured many of the participating establishments over the past few months to learn more about what makes them unique (links to the video tours are cited below).
“We are excited to be a part of this, especially after just having opened up the ice cream shoppe in May,” said Shannon Kimberly Dominguez, daughter of Kimberly Farm owner, John Kimberly.
Kimberly Farm is one of the seven participating Ice Cream Crawl establishments.
After gaining popularity since the farm began serving ice cream in 2017, this past spring the Kimberly family built a large ice cream shoppe on its property, across the street from its main farm store.
“It’s definitely taken off,” Dominguez said.
Adam Fragola, owner of Villarina’s Pasta Shop, said he is looking forward to the inaugural event.
“It’s fantastic because it gives exposure to the many different places in town that offer all different flavors and different ways of making ice cream,” Fragola said.
Villarina’s Pasta shop carries ice cream from Newtown’s Ferris Acres Farm. The selection Fragola serves is made solely for his New Milford store and cannot be found at the Newtown creamery.
The ice cream crawl is going to “be a fun thing, especially for families, to go out and about in town, visit businesses and get a taste of what we all have to offer,” Fragola said.
How it Works
o Purchase ice cream from each of the participating establishments any time from July 7-Aug. 25 – and keep all receipts.
o Each individual who wants to receive a T-shirt must take a selfie with their ice cream in front of the Ice Cream Crawl sign at each respective establishment and then post it in the comments under the pinned Ice Cream Crawl post on the NewMilfordNow Facebook page. Tag the business.
o When each individual who wants to receive a T-shirt has had ice cream at each of the seven participating businesses and they have posted their selfies on the NewMilfordNow Facebook page, they must bring their receipts (showing ice cream purchases only) to the Mayor’s Office at Roger Sherman Town Hall, 10 Main St., Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to receive their New Milford Ice Cream Crawl T-shirt.
What to Expect
Here are some of the ice cream treats that can be found along the crawl:
o Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Heath Bar Caramel Crunch, Fudge Brownie and Strawberry Shortcake cyclones; chocolate chip cookie and fried dough ice cream boat sundaes; and more at All Aboard Pizzeria Ice Cream Parlor at 24 Railroad St. To view video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRYqzhtVFQ
o Chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream; scoop ice cream in an assortment of flavors; Oreo Cookie and M&Ms Carvelanche; deluxe flying saucer ice cream sandwiches; Fudgie the Whale and general ice cream cakes with chocolate crunchies; and more at Carvel at 14 Danbury Road. For a video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW0Vkj7aha4
o Snickers, Butterfinger and cookie dough SONIC Blasts; hand-mixed classic shakes; hand-mixed master shakes in flavors like strawberry cheesecake and Oreo chocolate; and hot fudge ice cream sundaes at Sonic at 291 Danbury Road.
o Cups, cones and pints of Ferris Acres ice cream, including Hope’s Tracks (chocolate ice cream with peanut butter, caramel, fudge and brownie), Chip’s Tracks (vanilla ice cream with caramel, fudge, cookie dough and butterscotch chips), Pinky Promise (farm classic strawberry with chunks of dark chocolate), all made custom for Villarina’s Pasta Shop at 123 Danbury Road, as well as Paradise Found and Campfire. To view video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urcikTljBdc
o Honey lavender, rose chocolate, blood orange chocolate chip and cannoli ice cream; black cherry and cream soda floats; and more at Grassroots Ice Cream at 12 Bank St. To view video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg-3TsYcsHQ
o Black raspberry, toasted almond, eggnog, waffle cone swirl, and strawberry ice cream; birthday cakes; Italian ice; pre-packaged ice cream sandwiches; and unique weekend treats like cinnamon bun sundaes and strawberry shortcake specialties; and more at Kimberly Farm at 410 Chestnutland Road.
o Twelve handles of self-serve frozen yogurt, gelato and vegan sorbets, including Cherry Dole Whip, cake batter, pistachio, and cookies and cream frozen yogurt; Rocky Road, Peanut Butter Ripple, Matcha and more ice cream; Orange Creamsicle Chiller; custom milkshakes, ice cream floats and smoothies; and more at Tasty Waves at 7 Main St. To view video tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqR_ca59hLU
