A Taste of Summer at Blue Bell

The event attracts patrons from throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

Many area and out-of-state residents look forward to Blue Bell Creameries’ annual Taste of Summer, always held the last weekend of June. The 2010 event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to ­3 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. This will be the 7th annual Taste of Summer, and the number of attendees is expected to be in excess of last year’s record-setting 15,000. The event attracts patrons from throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.  

Although Blue Bell has a total of four ice cream producing factories – located in Broken Arrow; Brenhan, TX; and Sylacauga, AL – the Taste of Summer is exclusive to the Broken Arrow plant. The event was designed as a day of fun for the entire family, in which Blue Bell could show off its manufacturing facility and treat kids and families to a day of ice cream tasting, ice cream eating contests, inflatable attractions, and plant tours for all to see just how Blue Bell ice cream is made. Please contact Blue Bell for plant tours that are given throughout the year.  

Taste of Summer will feature live entertainment throughout the day with talents from Charise Music Studio, Jamie Bell (western and Christian selections), Brandon Hollingshed (contemporary Christian selections), Roger Lord (country selections), and others. Both Hollingshed and Lord are employees of Blue Bell.

General admission to Taste of Summer is only $5. Kids six and under are admitted free. Enjoy sampling all the flavors of ice cream you can imagine, plus ice cream eating contests for kids, adolescents and adults. Timed contests are serious business, with previous winners coming back year after year to defend their titles. The record for consuming a half-gallon of Blue Bell ice cream is 57 seconds. The ­kids’ event is a two-minute contest to see who can devour the most mini ice cream sandwiches. Adolescents are timed for two minutes while consuming large sized ice cream sandwiches.  

Adding to the fun and festivities will be inflatable attractions for children, plus demonstrations by the Broken Arrow Fire and Police Departments, a First Aid group demonstration, and a demonstration by Midland Recycling.

The Broken Arrow Blue Bell plant is currently in the process of adding 20,000 square feet of refrigerated storage that will double current warehouse space. Blue Bell product is stored at minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Blue Bell began operations in Brenhan, TX in 1907. The Broken Arrow plant was opened in 1992. Although Blue Bell is only available in about 26 percent of the nation’s supermarkets, it ranks as one of the top three best-selling ice creams in the country. Their products are sold in 19 states.

According to Blue Bell General Manager Marty Kilgore, “No matter how much the market grows, quality standards never change and are never diluted or compromised. That's why people who are lucky enough to live where they can buy Blue Bell ice cream declare it to be the best ice cream in the country." Blue Bell’s vanilla ice cream is still the number one selling ice cream in the United States.  

Mark your calendar now for Saturday, June 26, and bring the whole family to the Blue Bell Creameries plant at 81st and Hwy. 51 to enjoy live entertainment, lots of delicious Blue Bell ice cream and fun other activities.

For more information, contact

Blue Bell Creameries

8201 E. Hwy. 51

Broken Arrow, OK 74014

(918) 258-5100