Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill Readies for Opening Day

    UTICA, OH, March 03, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The much-anticipated opening of Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill will commence on May 1 with a special offering of 99-cent opening-day ice cream cones. The Mill kicks off its 2013 travel season offering individual travelers, school field trips, motor coach and other groups and at 11 a.m. on May 1 with the popular experiences that draw more than 150,000 people to the Velvet Ice Cream headquarters every year. In addition to enjoying a scoop of famous Velvet Ice Cream at 1970s-era pricing, guests can enjoy the following:

- Free Velvet Ice Cream tours
- Watching ice cream being made in the viewing gallery
- Free play on the Ye Olde Mill playground
- Three shelter houses for picnics and family gatherings
- A Historic 1817 grist mill with water wheel
- A real 19th century-style ice cream parlor
- Interactive Ice Cream and Milling Museums
- Fishing and feeding the family of ducks at two catch-and-release fish ponds
- Gift shop
- Nature Trail
- Complimentary Wi-Fi

Throughout the season, visitors can also look forward to additional family-friendly events such as live music and entertainment, Mother's and Father's Day specials, National Ice Cream Month (July) deals and the 39th Annual Utica Sertoma Ice Cream Festival, held May 25-27 this summer, which famously served 42,000 scoops at last year's Memorial Day celebration.

Velvet Ice Cream is located in Utica, Ohio, situated on the perfect combination of wooded countryside and rolling, pastoral farmland. A family-owned and operated business for nearly 100 years, Joseph Dager founded Velvet Ice Cream in 1914 and four generations of Dagers have since run the company. Velvet produces more than 5 million gallons of ice cream every year from its headquarters on the 25-acre grounds of Ye Olde Mill. Ye Olde Mill also houses an ice cream and milling museum, a restaurant, playground, picnic area and catch-and-release fish pond. Named by Frommer's as one of America's 10 Best Ice Cream Factory Tours, Velvet's Ye Olde Mill welcomes 150,000 visitors each year for tours, tastings and events. The annual Ice Cream Festival (May 25-27, 2013), group tour experiences and school learning field trips are among the many draws to Ye Olde Mill, which is open to the public May 1-Oct. 31.

# # #