An ice cream social (also known as an ice cream party) is a planned event, the primary focus of which is

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

served to the guests. It is often a neighborhood event or welcoming party, normally held during the summer.

History

Ice cream socials are a traditional gathering, dating back to the 18th century in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. The first one recorded in America was in 1744, when

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

governor

Thomas Bladen Thomas Bladen (23 February 1698 – 2 February 1780) was a colonial governor in North America and politician who sat in the British House of Commons between 1727 and 1741. He served as the 19th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1742 to 1747. ...

served ice cream for a dinner party. The first one in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

was in 1802, with the 3rd U.S. president,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. When ice cream became more available to the public in the 1800s, organizations such as schools and churches started hosting them. Commencing in the 1860s, church events were often fashioned after the "ice cream gardens" common in society at the time. Today, they still take place in governmental and

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

circles and have spread to all classes and many types of organization with the increased popularity and availability of ice cream. Ice cream socials have expanded into elaborate affairs with many other ingredients and activities planned around it. Various online guides have sprouted up to assist planners. The world's largest ice cream social was held on January 30, 2019 in Italy.

References

Ice cream Parties {{Dessert-stub

History

See also

References