Savor Utah-made ice cream on a hot July day at the annual Pioneer Day Ice Cream Social, Friday, at the Museum of Moab, 118 E. Center St. Crystal’s Cakes and Cones will provide the ice cream – and cupcakes!
Like last year, the ice cream social will also feature games, shade, and live music. Kids’ activities include ladder ball, rope the cattle, and the use of magnifying glasses to look for insects, Museum of Moab director John Foster said.
Before Crystal’s Cakes and Cones owner Crystal Alvarez began supplying the ice cream at last year’s event, the ice cream tended to melt before it was all served, she said. Alvarez built a mobile ice cream trailer to solve that problem.
“It’s a miniature version of the ice cream store,” Alvarez said. With several summertime events in Moab, it’s “handy to be mobile and still have the capability of serving hard ice cream.”
Alvarez buys her ice cream from Farr Better Ice Cream Company, an Ogden-based ice cream maker founded 90 years ago. She said she donates ice cream to the annual ice cream social to help out the museum and the community. Crystal’s Cakes and Cones opened its shop at 26 West Center St. in March, 2010, and in 2013, won a Certificate of Excellence award from TripAdvisor.com.
In addition to the standard flavors of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, Alvarez said she will offer several other ice cream varieties such as grasshopper (mint chip) and a sorbet – for those who are lactose intolerant. The cupcakes – which are baked daily at Crystal’s Cakes and Cones – include vanilla, lemon, double chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, carrot, and red velvet.
The local band Mill Creek Station will play from 7 to 9 p.m. a mixture of classic rock tunes, country, and blues music. The group performs original songs, as well as cover tunes such as “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones, and “Building a Mystery” by Sarah McLachlan, said the band’s guitarist James Grantham.
“It will be mostly acoustic numbers, with some sing-alongs,” Grantham said. “We did it last year – it was a lot of fun.”
The group is comprised of a number of community leaders – retired National Park Service employee Glenn Sherrill, business owner James Grantham, Grand County Councilor Jaylyn Hawks, Utah State University-Moab Dean Steve Hawks, Grand County School Superintendent Scott Crane, and college student Joseph Hawks.
The Pioneer Day Ice Cream Social is also an opportunity to learn about the pioneers of Moab. The museum will stay open later during the event, to allow visitors to view museum exhibits about Moab’s pioneers, who settled in the town during the mid-1870s. Unclaimed grazing lands and the promise of farming opportunities brought Moab’s pioneers to the region. Early explorers traveled through Moab for decades as they headed west looking for gold and silver.
The Museum of Moab additionally includes geology exhibits, as well as ancient Native American artifacts, and a “full history of Moab,” Foster said. Regular museum hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There is no cost to attend the ice cream social, although donations are appreciated.
Enjoy games, live music at annual Pioneer Day celebration
When: Friday, July 24, 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: The lawn outside the Museum of Moab, 118 E. Center St.
Cost: Donations accepted
moabmuseum.org, or 435-259-7985
