The Silver City Museum is proud to host its 35th Annual Ice Cream Social on July 4th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For decades the Ice Cream Social has been a highlight of the local Independence Day celebration. A full slate of live entertainment, seasonal treats, and old-fashioned pastimes will again be featured. But this year there will be even more delightful diversions and historical ambiance!
Admission and children's activities are free as always. Tickets are available at the gates for refreshments, Cakewalk, and face painting. The program will be MCed by Raul Turrieta, our very own "Uncle Sam." Live music will entertain guests on the shady lawn of our courtyard, including mariachi singer Angelica Padilla, beloved fiddling duo Bayou Seco, guitarist Danny Cordova, and of course the Concert Band of the Southwest will take us out for the grand finale!
As in previous years, July 4th visitors will be offered ice cream, root beer floats, popcorn, and soda. This year, Brazzas Grill will also offer three kinds of hot dogs: Sonoran, Hawaiian, and New Mexican.
Children will be amused with old-fashioned games and crafts, including Bubblemania, hoop rolling, sack races, clothespin drop, and more. Folks of all ages look forward to our annual Cake Walk – for some, the central attraction of the Ice Cream Social. Each year the Museum bestows many donated cakes in this traditional, musical-chairs-like game of chance where the winner "takes the cake."
This year, extra attention will be paid to costuming and historical Cakewalk music. Visitors will feel truly transported!
The Ice Cream Social is also expanding its footprint to include the rear lot. This allows us to feature vendors and entertainers, as well as relieve congestion. In the tree-lined lot adjacent to the courtyard, guests can have their faces painted, watch jugglers, get a psychic reading, shop for gems and jewelry, and learn about some of our great local causes and organizations.
The Museum and Museum Store will be fully accessible during the Ice Cream Social -- and free of charge as always. Visitors can take in our special exhibition, photographer Delilah Montoya's Contemporary Castas: Nuestra "Calidad," as well as our local history exhibits on mining, the Big Ditch, and the Hobart family. Shoppers can purchase memorabilia, toys, books, shirts, hats, jewelry, and more.
The Ice Cream Social is a local tradition extending back many years and spanning generations.
The first Social was held to celebrate the Museum's 10th birthday on July 4, 1977, and consisted of a single table with three tubs of ice cream. It was repeated on a small scale every other year through 1983, when it became an annual offering. The added energy of the Silver City Museum Society, founded in 1985, has allowed the Ice Cream Social to become the Museum's biggest annual event, often drawing over1,000 visitors.
This annual event would not be possible without generous support from the community. Sponsorship by Finn's Gallery and Western Bank will allow the proceeds from ticket sales to benefit the Museum's public programs. Other key supplies are donated or supplied at cost by Food Basket, Albertsons Market and Deming Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Cakes are donated by local volunteers, businesses, and organizations. Every person serving, performing, and assisting with the Ice Cream Social is donating his or her time to make this a truly special holiday celebration for the community.
The Ice Cream Social is always in need of more volunteers and cake donors! To join the fun please contact Volunteer Coordinator Jo Lutz at (575) 596-0229 or e-mail volunteercoordinator@silvercitymuseum.org.
The Silver City Museum creates opportunities for residents and visitors to explore, understand and celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of southwestern New Mexico by collecting, preserving, researching and interpreting the region's unique history. For more information about the Museum's programming, please visit the Museum's website at www.silvercitymuseum.org.