We are all Villagers: Ice cream in Marda Loop

Summer birthday treats at Village Ice Cream, Marda Loop, Calgary. © J. Ashley Nixon

Do you recall a moment in your childhood about ice cream and summer? Maybe a cone on the beach, when the sand got mingled with the runny deliciousness to give it that unwanted gritty feeling? Or the angst, and maybe tears, when the money you saved up-just a few coins- went down the drain, literally, when you spilled your double scoop onto the pavement?

Both of those happened to me. And then there were afternoons going down to Brontë Ice Cream in Haworth. My friends and I would pause from our game of football or cricket and head down the cobbled Main Street and over the bridge of the River Worth and the railway line to the shop. My favourite was a ninety-nine, a scoop of the real dairy with a Cadbury’s flake stuck into the top.

That taste memory came back to me in Calgary yesterday during a visit to the Marda Loop shop of Village Ice Cream. It was my daughter’s birthday treat and with a family of willing sharers, it gave me the chance to sample a few of the handcrafted ices made right here in Calgary. We sat down in the shade in front of the cool counter and tried out strawberry, vanilla bean, and the more adventurous Earl Grey flavour. Delicious, stylish, artisanal craft.

Village memories recalled. We are all Villagers!

For more images of ice cream and the summer of ’17, please visit J. Ashley Nixon Photography