Who knew that there were so many world records having to do with ice cream? There’s one for the most scoops of ice cream balanced on a cone (71, a record set on July 22, 2012 in Italy); the largest ice cream cone (over nine feet tall, created in January 2011, also in Italy); the largest ice cream sculpture (shaped like an 18th-century ship, made in Burbank, California in 2002 with 453 gallons of ice cream); and the longest ice cream dessert (just under 1,200 feet, made at a resort in Florida last August).
But not so fast: That last record is set to be broken this week in Kingston along the Promenade on the Rondout. Boice Brothers Dairy, one of the oldest family dairy farms in the country (founded in 1914 and still run by the third and fourth generations of the family), is turning 100 years old. It’s throwing an Across the Generations Birthday Bash to celebrate on Sunday, July 20 from 12 noon to 4 p.m., which will include the making of the world’s longest ice cream dessert and place Kingston in the Guinness Book of World Records. The plan is to make an ice cream sundae the length of five football fields. It will weigh a ton – literally.
Jim Boice, great-grandson of the dairy’s founders Pratt and Harriett Boice, says that the building of the sundae will begin at 1 p.m. Tables will be pushed together all along the waterfront Promenade, and one of the event sponsors, Viking Industries of New Paltz, has engineered a cardboard “trough” of sorts to stretch the length. Boice Brothers is seeking 900 volunteers to work in five-person teams scooping out the ice cream, which will be layered under whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles and cherries. Once the sundae’s length has been documented on video and film, Kingston mayor Shayne Gallo will confirm the hopefully-record-breaking status of the sundae, and then the eating of it commences.
Volunteers who wish to take part in the scooping-out of the sundae should show up no later than 12:30 p.m. Preregister at the volunteer table set up at T. R. Gallo Park. Young kids aren’t eligible to scoop, but they can enjoy the free ice cream afterward.
Tables are sponsored by many local businesses who are footing the cost of the supplies, with proceeds going toward a new program organized by the Hudson River Maritime Museum and the sloop Clearwater. The Hudson River Stewards program for fourth-graders is designed to create an interactive learning experience for elementary-school-age children, educating the next generation about the importance of the Hudson River in our lives. Tours and activities at the museum and the Clearwater will be part of the program.
In addition to all that ice cream – hormone- and antibiotic-free, by the way – the Across the Generations event along the Promenade and at T. R. Gallo Park will also have live music and entertainment by Mister Kick, the Saints of Swing, the Percussion Orchestra of Kingston (POOK), the Energy Dance Company, clowns, mimes, hula-hoop artists, face-painting and more. Events will be broadcast live on WDST Radio Woodstock, with Jimmy Buff as emcee. Food will be supplied by local restaurants.
Boice Brothers Dairy Across the Generations Birthday Bash, Sunday, July 20, 12 noon-4 p.m., free, T. R. Gallo Park & Promenade, Kingston; www.boicebrosdairy.com/generations.Read more about local cuisine and learn about new restaurants on Ulster Publishing’s www.DineHudsonValley.com or www.HudsonValleyAlmanacWeekly.com.
Join the family! 
