Ice Cream-Eating Contest Returns To Park Slope As Temps Plummet

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Temperatures are falling. Coats are being brought out of storage. Apartment heaters are coming back to life. The perfect time for... an outdoor ice cream-eating contest?

SkyIce will hold its second annual "Brain Freeze" ice cream-eating contest on Saturday, when nine contestants will compete for a SkyIce gift card and a personal plaque.

The eaters will race to see who can scarf down a pint of SkyIce's Thai Tea flavor, which Chowhound called "phenomenally delicious." Last year's winner, Patrick Garcia downed his pint in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. He'll be competing again this year.

“It was great. It was a lot of fun," SkyIce owner Jonathan Bayer told Patch about last year's contest. "The goal is to have this running for as long as people are interested. It’s a fun thing. It’s a way for us to help showcase Fifth Avenue."

The event on Saturday — at 1 p.m. at the ice cream join on Fifth and St. Marks avenues — will also feature a live D.J., free Gorilla Coffee and thai food samples.

And of course the main event, which should happen around 2 p.m.

"To make it a little more challenging we wanted to do it outside on the cusp of winter," Bayer said of the contest. "And we wanted to make it a speed thing as opposed to volume. It seems to be more fun that way."

The free event will have a "street fair atmosphere," Bayer said. It's hosted by the Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, which represents small businesses along the neighborhood corridor.

Photo courtesy Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID