IDFA wrapped up its celebration of National Ice Cream Month last week with the announcement of the winners of the annual Instagram Ice Cream Photo Contest.

The contest, in its third year, asks participants to post photos on the popular smartphone app, showing how they were celebrating National Ice Cream Month. The entry with the most “likes” each Friday was named the winner of contest for that week and awarded ice cream donated by IDFA member companies.

This year, four winners were selected: @vilcekfoundation, @mbcrowley, @erica_tighe and @yichinglin. Winning photos captured retro ice cream parlor visits, sprinkle-coated cones, smiling serving bowls and poetry-inspiring ice cream sandwiches.

@yichinglin also submitted the following ode to the ice cream sandwich:  

morning arrives
pressed –
like the best
ice cream sandwich
ever tasted – warm,
cool, warm,
leaving the fingers
a bit stickier

“Our entries this year demonstrated just how creative ice cream lovers can be when asked to join in the celebration of National Ice Cream Month,” said Peggy Armstrong, IDFA vice president of communications. “IDFA wants to thank all of our participants and our member companies for making this year’s contest a success.”

Visit @dairyidfa on Instagram to view all winning submissions and other Ice Cream Month photos.

IDFA also celebrated National Ice Cream Month on other social platforms, engaging Twitter and Facebook followers with daily ice cream fun facts, photos and news articles. This year, IDFA added a new nostalgic series with #CrankBacktheClock, which looked at the history of ice cream favorites. To celebrate National Ice Cream Day, July 19, IDFA released a video that captured the fun and frenzy of this year’s Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party.

IDFA also joined with the International Association of Ice Cream Distributors and Vendors to recognize pioneers in the ice cream vending industry. 

For more information, contact Armstrong at parmstrong@idfa.org or Audra Kruse, IDFA communications intern, at akruse@idfa.org.