We made an Ice Cream Boat....

[nicolebentley]

Oh, also, Tom Ray---- Love the slipcover idea for the buoys. Will try that.

Also.... hot food would be a BIG hit.... but requires extensive permitting and licensing. We sell only packaged food to avoid all that. I've read that hot food is a killer-seller.... everyone is starving on the water, of course....

We DID get all legal approval, licenses, etc.

[badmoonrising]

This guy on the Bohemia River has an older Gibson house boat setup with a smoker, ice cream, pulled pork, etc. Decorated like a pig to boot

[teecro]

That's a whole lot of pink paint...

[smltooner]

Mmmmmmm......cooked pig.....yum - yum.

[badmoonrising]

He seems to be doing well, lol.

[RcgTexas]

Good job Nicolebentley for getting him a start! I hope it does well. Good to see the American way still exists in this environment.

[rockhound]

anyone who starts their own business is alright in my book, i have been self employed for decades...

good for him, i hope he does well

[bassn386]

Great idea and great job on the toon! Kudos to your son; I see a career as an entrepreneur for him.
We used to have an old gentleman here at LOTO who sold bar-b-que from his toon. Had a big pig on it, painted the whole thing a shocking pink. He had a distinctive whistle/horn and you could hear him quite a ways down the lake. The smell from the smoker would get to you long before the boat and made mouths water for some good ole "Q".
He must have passed away or got too old to come out any more. It was fun while it lasted!

[nicolebentley]

Hi all! I wanted to post an update on The Ice Cream Float, in case anyone is entertained by it. Also have one question, which I'll post in a separate query. (Help me with that if you can)

The Ice Cream Float was able to sell thru September, and we were very sad when the boat traffic fizzled. We WERE able to get some exposure at Christmastime, by entering the boat in the Downtown Wilmington (NC) Christmas Parade, where we won 3rd prize, even tho our generator flooded and we had to go thru the (light) parade without lights!

We then parked the boat in the front edge of our front yard, and my son added more lights, and it served as our house Christmas decoration.

That parade had 3000 spectators and motivated us to apply for the prestigious Azalea Festival Parade, coming April 11. We were chosen! Yayy us! and this parade has over 100,000 spectators!! yes, 100,000. Great exposure for us.

So we're gearing up for that, refreshing the decor on the boat, and I'll post some pictures of the new look for spring. (We're just fine-tuning it and adding a little more.)

We still have not issued a press release, but we got lots more press coverage, and will be pursuing even more this spring. You can see all the press and lots of photos on our website, http://www.IceCreamFloatBoat.com

We will be giving away lots of shirts and hoodies in the coming weeks, so if you want to win one, go Like us on Facebook - "The Ice Cream Float"! Thanks for all your help here.

[Strake]

As Ted mentioned earlier....... here's the awesome brothers that have operated on SML for years !

We try each year to tip these guys, but they always refuse to take one. Don't know how they make a living as their prices for ice cream is extremely reasonable.

You can hear them coming for quite a distance as they blast the "Ice Cream Truck" tune.... must drive them nuts by the end of the day.

Can't wait for it to start up again