Serving Up Ice Cream for the Jimmy Fund
Annual Scooper Bowl raises funds for cancer research, care
The Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl, the largest ice cream festival in the country, will dish out 20 tons of ice cream to 40,000 people at City Hall Plaza over the next three days. Photos courtesy of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
One of Boston’s most popular summer events—the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl–returns to City Hall Plaza today. Billed as “the largest all-you-can-eat ice cream festival,” the Scooper Bowl will serve up an estimated 20 tons of ice cream over the next three days. All proceeds go to support the Jimmy Fund, which provides adult and pediatric cancer care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. So you can eat to your heart’s content, guilt-free.
The fundraiser began in 1983, with four local ice cream companies serving about 1,000 people. This year, an estimated 40,000 ice cream lovers from all over the country are expected. Discounted tickets can be preordered online or purchased at the door the day of the event. Thanks to generous donations from the participating ice cream vendors and the support of volunteers, the Scooper Bowl has raised more than $5 million for cancer research and patient care since its inception.
This year, 10 ice cream companies—Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyer’s, Delish by Walgreens, Edy’s, Friendly’s, Hood, Vice Cream, Yasso, and Yuengling’s Ice Cream—will be dishing out the sweet stuff. A total of 48 flavors will be served: the usual suspects, of course, like Breyer’s chocolate and vanilla, and some more inventive flavors, like Hood’s Maple Flavored French Toast and Yuengling’s Black and Tan.
Several live bands, including Boston natives Amy & the Engine and Rob Ballantine, will be performing. Among other acts are Fiona Corinne, a pop/rock singer and keyboardist inspired by musical theater, and the punk-rock band Jump Start, from Weymouth, Mass.
So start your summer right by picking up a spoon and supporting a great cause.
The Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl is being held at Boston’s City Hall Plaza today, Tuesday, June 7, through Thursday, June 9, from noon to 8 p.m. Tickets ($10 for adults and children 10 and older and $5 for children 3 to 9) can be purchased in advance online here or at the door ($15 for adults and $10 for children). Discounted rates for groups of 15 of more are also available ($8 for adults and $3 for children). For those who plan to go more than once, consider purchasing a Scooper Pass, $20 for three-time entrance to the festival. Find a full list of vendors and flavors here and the live entertainment schedule here. Take any MBTA Green Line trolley to Park Street and walk down Tremont Street to City Hall Plaza.
Liz Vanderau can be reached at vanderau@bu.edu.
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