Ideal ice cream weather , warm, but not blisteringly hot, greeted those attending the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival at Rockwood Park.
Blessed by clear skies through the two-days it was held, the festival featured a visit from the Food Network and actor Anthony Anderson. Anderson is visiting food festivals, as part of a new Food Network show. Food Fest Nation. The show will premiere later in July.
On Sunday, judging was under way for the best sundae competition that is expected to be featured on the TV show. Participating in the contest will be: HyPoint Dairy, Kilby Cream, UDairy Creamery, Caffe Gelato, the Ice Cream Shop, Sweet Lucy’s, Palateria y Neuvaria Tocumbo, Cajun Sno and Vanderwende Dairy.
Event producer Barry Schlecker describes the annual event as “Delaware’s largest family picnic.” The long-running festive has been a cooperative effort between the county and Schlecker in the past few years. Prior to that time, it went on a hiatus, due to budget problems with the county, which had done the festival on its own.
The festival featured a host of local ice cream makers and sellers, as well as a selection of food trucks. Also on hand were assorted retail vendors, a beer garden, crafters, nonprofit organizations and local businesses offering various services. Music and events for children were also on tap.
During eight half-hour Food Network episodes, Anderson visits food fairs, sampling local specialties and meeting the characters devoted to the regional cuisine. Along the way, Anthony visits the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach, Fla. In one episode, he attends the Magnolia Blossom Festival & World Championship Steak Cook-Off in Magnolia, Ark., where over 4,000 different kinds of ribeye steaks compete for a $10,000 prize.
He also visits the Long Grove Strawberry Festival, an Illinois that attracts 20,0000. In another episode, he stops by Ribfest Chicago for a world-class rib-eating showdown that draws top competitive eaters.
Throughout the season, Anthony also gets a taste of the South Carolina Poultry Festival in Batesberg, S.C., the Jambalaya Festival in Gonzalez, La., and the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival in Tyron, N.C.
Anthony Anderson has competed on Food Network’s Chopped and appeared as both a judge and competitor on Iron Chef America.
Anderson has appeared in more than 20 films and NBC drama Law & Order, playing Detective Kevin Bernard. Anthony also appeared in the DreamWorks‘ blockbuster Transformers, directed by Michael Bay; as well as in Martin Scorsese’s Osca winning feature, The Departed.
He can also be seen in the upcoming ABC sitcom, Black-ish, this fall, in which he will both star and produce.
Barry’s Events, founded by Wilmington entrepreneur Barry Schlecker, produces the annual WilmFilm Festival, held the last weekend in April; the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival at Rockwood, held the last weekend in June; the Brandywine Festival of the Arts, held the weekend after Labor Day; and A Taste of the Holidays, held in December.
