An old-fashioned ice-cream social will be the cherry on top of La Jolla Historical Society’s summer festivities designed to reach out to residents of all ages. The lawns of the Wisteria Cottage at 780 Prospect St. will resound with children’s folk music by Hullaballoo, and guests will engage in timeless lawn games and face painting on July 17 3 to 5 p.m. John Bolthouse, executive director of the society, said the event is an important step to ensuring that La Jolla’s younger generations develop an appreciation for their roots. “The historical society hasn’t really been proactive in trying to reach out to kids,” Bolthouse said. “This is really our first effort to reach out to La Jolla’s youth and introduce kids to the society en masse, and to show them and their parents that history is fun and visiting us here is a great experience.” Bolthouse said he also hoped that getting local youngsters involved will help preserve the community legacy for generations to come. “There’s nothing more important to maintaining the architectural and cultural character of La Jolla than understanding and appreciating its history,” he said. “We might not be talking about history at this event, but this is the first step to letting the community know that we’re here for a reason and that it’s important to enjoy and appreciate our history and have respect for it as well.” As for the event itself, Bolthouse said the society hopes to recreate the atmosphere of a summer afternoon from an era before video games and other modern entertainment. “It’s going to be a great time, and we’re going to try to have a historical feel so that kids can get a sense of what their parents and grandparents had fun doing back in the day,” he said. The first 200 children to arrive at the cottage will receive a free hula-hoop as a gift from Brian Miller of La Jolla’s Geppetto’s Toy Store, 7850 Girard. Guests are also invited to explore the historical society’s retro-surf exhibition, “Waveriders: Perspectives on Surfing La Jolla 1930-1950,” during the event. The event and ice cream are free, but the historical society welcomes a suggested donation of $3 for each guest attending the social. For more information, call (858) 459-5335 or visit www.lajollahistory.org.