Velvet Ice Cream To Celebrate National Ice Cream Month In Style

Ohio-based Velvet Ice Cream will mark National Ice Cream Month by offering free ice cream to anyone who visits the Ye Olde Mill weekdays from 1-3 p.m this July.

This July, Ohio-based Velvet Ice Cream will mark National Ice Cream Month by offering free ice cream to anyone who visits the Ye Olde Mill weekdays from 1-3 p.m. The promotion celebrates July's standing as National Ice Cream Month and July 15 being dubbed National Ice Cream Day. Visitors can sample a free sample of fresh ice cream right off of the Velvet production line throughout the month of July.

Along with free ice cream, visitors to Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill can enjoy tours of the Utica, Ohio ice cream factory, check out the ice cream and milling museums and view the historic 1817 grist mill, complete with a water wheel. Bike trails are also abundant throughout the area, giving bike enthusiast a great ride, which is perfectly complemented by a sample of ice cream. A picnic area, playground and a pond with ducks for feeding make Ye Olde Mill an ideal family destination. In addition to the loads of visitor activities, Velvet will offer ice cream specials throughout National Ice Cream Month.

In 1984, it was then-President Ronald Regan who first designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day. Regan recognized that ice cream was a staple of American culture, with 90 percent of Americans enjoying the frozen favorite each July. National Ice Cream Month is also endorsed by the International Ice Cream Association (IICA).

Velvet Ice Cream is located in Utica, Ohio, situated on the perfect combination of wooded countryside and rolling, pastoral farmland. A family-owned and operated business for nearly 100 years, Joseph Dager founded Velvet Ice Cream in 1914 and four generations of Dagers have since run the company. Velvet produces more than 5 million gallons of ice cream every year from its headquarters on the 25-acre grounds of Ye Olde Mill. Ye Olde Mill also houses an ice cream and milling museum, a restaurant, playground, picnic area and catch-and-release fish pond. Named by Frommer's as one of America's 10 Best Ice Cream Factory Tours, Velvet's Ye Olde Mill welcomes 150,000 visitors each year for tours, tastings and events. The annual Ice Cream Festival (May 24-26, 2013), group tour experiences and school learning field trips are among the many draws to Ye Olde Mill, which is open to the public May 1-Oct. 31.

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