With Sprinkles on Top

What could be better than ice cream and the great outdoors?

By Enrique Limón

I scream, you scream...you get the point. Few things bring out such unabashed joyous memories as ice cream does. Scoring the winning home-run, acing that algebra test, or in my case, not stealing from the corner grocery for a full week were rewarded with the icy treat.

Can you imagine an event that not only promotes ice cream but also thinks of it as the centerpiece of all the action? Well, those fine folks over at the Norte Wild Rivers Area beat you to the punch. This Saturday, in Cerro, north of Taos, they celebrate the best ice cream has to offer with a “school field day” type of event featuring games, music and yeah, ice cream-making demos that highlight locally harvested as well as wild ingredients.

The “Olympic” part of the Ice Cream Olympics comes in when a specialized panel of judges determines the best flavor created by a participating team.

The top flavors get special recognition. A people’s choice award is handed out. Ali might have stung like a bee, Flo-Jo had her sprint, but could they prepare a mean banana split?

“[This] project playfully engages the community with local and wild food cultures and the related bio-cultural diversity of the areas surrounding the newly designated National Monument,” NeoReo artist-in-residence Anita McKeown says. “What better way to engage with a place than by deliciously exploring  locally developed ice cream flavors [and] reflecting an edible landscape?”

The all-day frosty fiesta also includes a talk on medicinal landscapes and ice cream-making demos.

NeoRio 2013 Ice Cream Olympics:

2 pm-dusk Saturday, Sept. 28. Donations suggested.

Rio Grande del Norte Wild Rivers Area Vistor’s Center, 1120 Cerro Road,

Cerro, (575) 586-1150

Santa Fe Reporter

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