On Sunday, September 16, the Fountain On Locust (3037 Locust Street; 314-249-1244) will host what it calls the "Scooperbowl." The event will feature several soda jerks taking part in intense competitions. Attendees can watch these experts go head-to-head and enjoy free ice cream. Gut Check spoke with the Fountain's owner, Joy Christensen, to get the, ahem, full scoop.
Two of ice cream shop's staff members, Nancy Twilley and Christine Johnson, came up with the idea to put the best soda jerks to the test. The original name, the Soda Jerk Off, didn't make the final cut.
"Soda jerking is an art that has its own set of manners, language and rules," Christensen explains. Although the Scooperbowl is just for fun, she expects the competition to be fierce.
The competition will include six to eight of the Fountain's best soda jerks competing in five different events: World's Smallest Hot Fudge Sundae (WSS), shake, quart, team competition and most beautiful sundae. Most of the events will result in free ice cream for event attendees, with milkshakes and sundaes passed around the crowd to enjoy.
(Now that's Gut Check's type of spectator sport.)
Soda jerks will be teaming up to make the best treats to win judges over. The panel of judges will base their decisions on criteria such as fastest times, consistency, thickness, portioning and flavor.
"The action will be announced by an emcee. It'll be smokin'!" Christensen says.
The Scooperbowl is an adult-only (18+) event that will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 16. There will be ice-cream martini specials as well as entertainment and treats for all attendees. Fifteen dollars at the door gets you in for the ice cream showdown and spoils.
