State College-area farm market brings back popular ice cream trailer for second summer
For more than 20 years, Wasson Farm Market in Ferguson Township has been a popular stop for many families seeking fall fun at the market’s annual festival. Now, families have a new reason to drop by the enduring Centre County institution well before fall festivities are underway.
Wasson Farm Market’s popular ice cream trailer is back for the second year in a row, a relatively newer offering that has proven to be a hit with both longstanding and first-time clientele.
Candy Wasson said she and her family first launched the trailer in July 2020, amid the many small business challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those challenges did not deter the Wasson family, though.
“We thought adding ice cream would complement the other things we do on the farm throughout the year. Also, it’s a way to integrate our past heritage of processing milk on the farm that was discontinued in the 1980s,” she said.
This year, Wasson Farm Market brought the ice cream trailer back a little earlier in the season, opening mid-April and offering classic, homemade ice cream in flavors such as chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. There are also more inventive options, with the Wasson family always up for adding a new flavor to the mix.
“We listen to customer suggestions, then choose what is requested most frequently to be added,” Wasson said. “From there, it is a lot of taste-testing, trying to get the right flavor.”
All flavors are available as cones, dishes, sundaes or floats, with or without an array of toppings. At the moment, the market’s ice cream menu is only available on site, as the family continues to refine its menu for the season. Wasson said to keep an eye on the market’s Facebook page for the final resulting menu.
As for the most popular pick of the bunch?
“We offer seven different flavors and they all are pretty equal in popularity. If we had to choose, our strawberry has a big following due to having chunks of real strawberries in it,” Wasson said. Her personal favorite ice cream flavor, however, is the mint flake.
But it’s not just the ice cream that Wasson said is drawing families to the farm market this season.
“We’re just outside of town and have a welcoming atmosphere on the farm. We have a lot of open space, some animals for the children to see and a waterfall patio to sit next to and enjoy your ice cream,” she said.
She also hinted at something new for the farm in the works, to be unveiled later this summer.
Wasson Farm Market is located at 2545 Shingletown Road, and is open seven days a week, from noon until dark. Hours for the ice cream trailer are posted monthly on the Wasson Farm Market Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WassonFarm/. The ice cream trailer accepts payment in the form of cash and check only.