Ice Cream Eating Champion of Mount Vernon Competition

]: The Joint today announced a partnership with Velvet Ice Cream in conjunction with the Dan Emmett Festival. Velvet and The Joint host “The Ice Cream Eating Championship of Mount Vernon,” Friday, August 9 at 3:30 p.m. on the Community Pavilion Stage in Mount Vernon’s downtown Square.  Five age groups (5-8, 9-12, 13-15, 16-20 and 21+), along with a Local Celebrity division, will compete beginning at 3:30 with the celebrity competition taking place at 4:15 p.m.
 
“We are a huge supporter of both our Mount Vernon community and Velvet Ice Cream,” says David Stein, owner of The Joint. “After meeting with the Dan Emmett Festival’s new organizers, we really wanted to find a fun way to be involved.  Seeing the entertainment and popularity of the Utica Sertoma Ice Cream Festival ice cream eating contest (held every Memorial Day weekend in Utica, OH), it was natural for us to reach out to Velvet. Their superior community involvement is only surpassed by their quality of ice cream.”
 
“We are thrilled to be involved in the Dan Emmett Festival,” said Velvet Ice Cream President Luconda Dager. “Velvet Ice Cream fans in Mount Vernon have enjoyed a lot of shakes and scoops at The Joint, so this is a perfect partnership. We look forward to bringing this fun family event to the Dan Emmett Festival.”
 
Every great contest needs an ice cream enthusiast to emcee the event. Utica Sertoma member Bob Curtis, who helped create the Ice Cream Festival and has attended for more than 50 years, will serve as the contest’s emcee. Curtis has performed the same duties at the Utica Sertoma Ice Cream Festival and is expected to bring that same energy to the Dan Emmet Festival.
 
The contest is FREE to enter. Registration begins at 2 p.m. at the festival’s registration table next to the Community Pavilion Stage. The first 20 contestants to register in each division will be eligible to compete, on a first-come, first-in basis. Each division will be assigned a competition start time and length, when they will have the opportunity eat as much Velvet Ice Cream as possible, with times ranging from 60 seconds for younger kids, up to four minutes for adults. The winner from each group will receive a special championship prize pack from The Joint and Velvet Ice Cream. 
 
For more information on the event visit The Joint, in downtown Mount Vernon, or its Facebook Page, @TheJointMV.
 
About The Joint: Serving up an assortment of delicious dishes in a relaxed 50’s classic diner, visitors to The Joint find that the whole family leaves full and satisfied. Whether looking for our signature "Smashed Burger,” thick-cut Cheesesteak or Velvet hand-dipped ice cream and shakes and so much more, The Joint’s staff is ready to serve its guests. Offering a new twist on the old 50s-style diner, The Joint provides a modern flair and an updated menu that respects the past while giving the new kids a chance to shine. Guests fall in love with the environment long before they get to the food. The Joint is found in the heart of the square in downtown Mount Vernon, OH.
 
About Velvet Ice Cream: 2019 marks 105 years of business for Velvet Ice Cream. Founded in 1914 by Joseph Dager, four generations of Dagers have since run the company, which is located in Utica, Ohio on 25 acres of the perfect combination of wooded countryside and rolling, pastoral farmland. Still family-owned and operated, Velvet produces and distributes more than five million gallons of ice cream every year from its headquarters on the grounds of Ye Olde Mill. Ye Olde Mill also houses a restaurant and ice cream parlor, along with an ice cream museum, playground, picnic area and catch-and-release fish pond. Travelers are invited to visit Ye Olde Mill every day, May through October.