How much ice cream can you eat? My family had a chance to test this at this year’s Carnival of Ice Cream and Chocolate (Jäätelö- ja Suklaakarnevaali). The fair, taking place at Kaapelitehdas in downtown Helsinki, gave a platform to ice cream and chocolate producers and retailers to show off new flavours and brands. The festival took place over the course of the weekend May 26th – 28th. Guests were required to pay an entrance fee in exchange for touring the exhibition and picking free tastings and samples. If you couldn’t get enough, you had a chance to buy more from any stand.

Useless to say, I had to break the news we were going to my kids only few hours before. Defining them excited is an understatement. They had the time of their life, eating ice cream with little limitations (“Can we really have more??” – I quote). We visited on Saturday 27th, after lunch. Tickets worked in turns of two hours. We entered when one was ending and were lucky to meet little crowd. We could freely tour several stands. Unfortunately I have to say that about a hour later the situation changed and we found it hard to move around with two small kids. I feel this is something families should be mindful of.

We explored especially the ice cream section, being us an Italian family and therefore an absolute authority on the topic of gelato. We had a chance to taste many and our top threes were:
3. Roberts’ Coffee Gelato Factory
2. Kolme kaveria
1. La Gelateria – our winner!
I was especially impressed by La Gelateria’s pistachio flavour, a vegan version made with water. I was skeptic, but I found it as creamy and tasty as gelato should be.

During our visit the main stage was hosting a fierce competition to win “Ice Cream of the Year 2019”. According to the general results, vegan pistachio is a strong trend this year. Bus Gelato‘s version won the coveted title.

Few stands had mascots greeting small visitors or brief activities for children, like a raffle where we won candies.

To break the sugar rush, the organisers had the smart idea of placing a kids’ corner on the second floor. We visited it to unwind from the noise and allow the children to jump some energy off on the bouncy castle. Beside that, the space had chairs and boardgames. I was really glad to have this quiet corner where to rest before hitting the stands again.

Another nice touch were the water fountains, easy to access and absolutely needed! I was expecting somebody would cash out on selling water bottles, but I was pleasantly surprised by this free service offered to visitors.

What’s my final verdict on the event? It was fun, but more suitable to adults or families with older children. The crowd in the final part of our visit made it really hard to move around, let alone reach the stands. Then there’s the fact that small kids are way more sensitive to sugar, so the visit can easily be cut short by how they react to the tastings. I found the event interesting and entertaining for adults, and I would definitely recommend it more for a romantic or friends’ date than a family outing. If you decide to attend, make sure to check the programme beforehand and make sure to get the most from your visit.

It was an interesting experience and the whole family enjoyed it. It was nice to make a big exception on our diet and get our bellies full with delicious ice cream. Would definitely visit again next year, just me and my hubby this time!

We were invited to the fair by its organisers. Opinions are mine and sincere. Read more about my working values here.