By Meghan Levi
When pharmacist and food blogger Scott Wink moved to Boise, he felt he arrived right on the cusp of something big. “Boise has such a great emerging food scene with creative chefs and collaborative business owners” and, as we all know, a deep love of festivals. Scott and Crystal Wink, the creative duo behind BoisesBestBites.com, see all this enthusiasm as an opportunity to showcase Idaho’s dairy industry in the sweetest way possible – The Boise Ice Cream Festival.
If your interest just peaked, you aren’t alone. Within days of posting the event on Facebook, the festival had nearly 20,000 likes. “We are promoting Idaho’s dairy backbone, highlighting Boise’s historic relationships to it and then working with this new creative class of ice cream makers and chefs to create something in Boise that no one else in the country is doing.”
And, not to mention, a perfect way to kick off summer.
The festival will have events at dozens of locations, affordable pricing (some events are free), and something for everyone. The signature event will be the Grand Tasting, a wonderland of 200+ ice cream flavors, most of them locally produced. The Grand Tasting will require an advanced ticket and Scott expects it to sell out quickly, “I got an email this week from someone planning to drive up to the Grand Tasting from Elko, Nevada.” A limited number of tickets will be divided up among different time slots to ensure guests won’t be waiting in long lines. The ticket price will include your share of ice cream samples so no out-of-pocket cost is needed once you get there. Other categories of events include the Drive Up, featuring Boise’s favorite historic drive-in restaurants doing special treats just for the festival. The Explore events will bring you behind the scenes to learn from the experts. Goody’s Soda Fountain will host a mommy morning event for the early risers and The Stil Ice Cream Shop will collaborate with Payette Brewing and Form & Function to bring you beer floats and affogatos. For those who want a bit of wind in their hair, and a scoop in their hand, the ubiquitous Pedals and Pints bike bar will be switching out the pints of brews for pints of ice cream. Finally, the Chef Inspired events will highlight area pastry chefs serving up unique dessert creations only available over the course of the festival. No tickets needed to indulge in the Chef Inspired events, just make a reservation at a participating restaurant and save room for dessert!
Scott credits the Boise community with inspiring him to take on such a big event, “Part of what’s given us the courage to take on this challenge has been the great relationships we’ve built with so many foodies and influencers in the region.” It doesn’t get much better than a big scoop of ice cream and a warm Boise summer night.
For more information on exact dates and locations please visit http://boiseicecreamfestival.com
