By JORDEN HALES | Uptown News<\/p>\n
Daniel Szpak loves his community and ice cream, perhaps in that order.<\/p>\n
A full-time registered nurse at San Diego State University hospital, Szpak has spent more than 15 years living in North Park and most of his life enjoying ice cream.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, June 23, he plans to bring the two passions together.<\/p>\n
Szpak co-founded Hammond\u2019s Gourmet Ice Cream in 2014 and remained a managing partner until 2017.<\/p>\n
Now eyeing retirement but too busy to start another shop, he is working to create Southern California\u2019s premier ice cream festival.<\/p>\n
The Scoop San Diego festival will feature more than 20 local ice cream and gelato shops on 30th Street in North Park.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first event of its kind in San Diego County and Szpak plans to organize it annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super social,\u201d Szpak said with a laugh. \u201c[My husband] Chris and I joke about me sustaining myself by meeting up with friends and gathering groups of people together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want this to be just, \u2018here\u2019s another beer or taco festival and then forget about it until next year.\u2019 I want the relationships and the fundraising projects to stay relevant. North Park is my community. I\u2019ve gotten a lot of support from it and made a lot of connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those relationships were the catalyst for the project, along with Szpak\u2019s affinity for cold desserts. He noticed that young people tend to enjoy ice cream in vibrant, social settings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started in my childhood,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI really like the interaction. Everyone loves ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the festival will be donated to East Village\u2019s Monarch School, which educates homeless K-12 youth<\/p>\n
The students of Monarch have been learning to make their own ice cream and will serve their own flavor at the festival.<\/p>\n
More than 10 businesses other than ice cream and gelato shops are also participating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to invite them because some of them are either associated with the ice-cream shops, [selling] their products at the shops,\u201d he explained. \u201cSome are nonprofit organizations that I\u2019m friends with the CEOs of, local businesses near my house here in North Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason Gould of 30th Street\u2019s Visual art gallery began painting Scoop San Diego\u2019s selfie wall during the North Park Festival of Arts last month.<\/p>\n
Other work from the gallery will be showcased at the festival.<\/p>\n
These sorts of collaborative efforts are the exact type of relationships Szpak hopes will come from the festival, just as its dessert often brings friends and family together for social gatherings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our first year in San Diego, so we want to participate and become a true part of the community, said David Aguilera, a managing partner of An\u2019s Dry Cleaning gelato shop on Adams Avenue. \u201cWe want to create a culture. We all have to support each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
An\u2019s Dry Cleaning \u2014 which takes its name from the previous owner of its building \u2014 will debut a new flavor at Scoop San Diego and be providing trivia about the differences between gelato and ice cream, as well as the history of the two cold desserts.<\/p>\n