By Frank Green
In 2011, the organizers of the Dunster Ice Cream Social came close to running out of ice cream. In 1999, they were down to just two tubs of vanilla by the end of the night. And in 1988, the organizers raided every freezer in Dunster for emergency supplies to keep up with demand. Bonnie Culp is still talking about it.
“It was a panic,” Culp said of the 1988 fiasco. “You can still see it in our faces.”
The all-you-can-eat event draws hundreds each year, but organizers couldn’t recall a time when someone ate themselves sick, though there are always a few ambitious teenagers.
Culp brought the idea for an ice cream social to Dunster after attending one in Oregon. The first one was held in 1978 with just eight tubs of ice cream. There were about 30 tubs last year. No one would guess at the uncountable pies consumed alongside that ice cream.
The Social raises money for bursaries for local grads, as well as the expenses of running the community hall.
