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Happy National Ice Cream Day! Yes, There Is Such A Holiday

By Christina St Jean
Published on: 02:17 PST, Jul 17, 2016

Ice cream lovers will be lining up at their local ice cream shops to celebrate National Ice Cream Day, a holiday established in 1984 by then-United States President, Ronald Reagan. National Ice Cream Day was put into effect through joint work from President Reagan and Congress, and now, 30 years later, ice cream continues to be honored by ice cream shops across the United States.

Coincidentally, July is also National Ice Cream Month.

Traditionally, National Ice Cream Day has been celebrated on the third Sunday in July. This year, according to USA Today, Uber has partnered with Magnum to deliver 400 ice cream bars in 69 countries. Uber has promised curbside delivery to those who might be craving ice cream on National Ice Cream Day, and will be accepting orders for ice cream between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. regardless of the time zone.

NJ.com reports that canine companions can also get in on the action during National Ice Cream Day as well, as Doggie Ice Cream Sundaes are on offer at any one of a number of PetSmart’s PetsHotel locations. What these delectable confections are are scoops of vanilla soft serve topped with dog biscuit sprinkles, which means that Rover can get his ice cream groove on for National Ice Cream Day with some extra dog treats.

The Street also reports that ice cream sales continue to soar, even outside of National Ice Cream Day. According to Nielsen, in the 52 weeks prior to May 28, 2016, Americans bought $6.5 billion in ice cream, which marked a 2.5 percent increase on sales from the previous year.

Technomic Advisory Group Senior Principal David Henkes noted that ice cream and ice cream-related products continue to notch improved sales, and said that while people continued to focus on health and well being, indulgences like ice cream, even on days beyond National Ice Cream Day, continue to sell well.

“While there’s certainly a trend toward health and wellness, indulgence still sells in food-service, and people still want to treat themselves,” he said.

Weldon Spangler, senior vice president of Baskin-Robbins U.S. and Canada, told The Street that the innovations that companies like Baskin-Robbins try to undertake regularly continue to appeal to consumers, which continues to drive sales.

“While lots of people are being more careful about what they are eating, there is something about having a treat — people work hard on their diet for much of the week and then occasionally want to treat themselves,” Spangler noted.

Baskin-Robbins is also donating 75 cents USD to the USO for every ice cream float sold today in honor of the USO’s 75th anniversary, according to NBC News. Also, for every month that ends in 31 days, some participating Baskin-Robbins will be selling regular and kid-sized scoops for $1.31 each.

If ice cream lovers really want to get the ultimate in ice cream on National Ice Cream Day, they might want to head over to New York’s Bagatelle restaurant, where they can snag the penultimate ice cream treat. They might want to check their bank balances, though.

The Bagatelle Mega Sundae, which is served in an oversized martini glass, comes with ice cream, brownies, popcorn, granola, caramel sauce and Chantilly for the relatively low price of $65. There is also the $1,000 Sundae, which comes new this month. With oversized scoops of vanilla ice cream and Dom Perignon Rose sorbet, those looking for an unbelievable ice cream experience will also see this incredible ice cream confection topped with chocolate truffles, macarons, whipped cream, chocolate vodka sauce, “gilded” brownies, a sprinkling of gold leaf and, for those looking to expand their jewelry collection, an 18k gold Carolina Bucci Lucky Bracelet.

No doubt, those looking for the top ice cream indulgence ever will find it no matter where they go on National Ice Cream Day, but the experience at Bagatelle will be tough to beat.

[Photo by Jason DeCrow/AP Images for PetSmart, Inc.]

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