August 30, 2007

Almaden resident wins ice cream contest

Celebrates with block party

By Carol Rosen
Editor

While some who live on the 5600 block of Croydon Avenue were friends before Sunday, Aug. 26, it appears that most of the residents up and down the block are now are friends.

The 5600 block of Croydon Avenue was the scene of that neighborhood’s first annual block party on Aug. 26. The party, which began when Laura Adint won a contest from Dreyer’s Ice Cream has mushroomed into an annual party because all the neighbors had such a good time. The group included lots of children in the mix of the 60 people.

Laura Adint is the reason behind these newly minted friendships. She is one of a handful of South Bay winners of a Dreyer’s Ice Cream Neighbor-hood Salute contest.

“I think I found the contest in a parenting magazine,” Adint told the Times. “I entered the contest and wrote an essay about what a wonderful neighborhood we have, and I was one of nearly 500 nationwide winners.”

Adint, who claims to never win anything, won 20 half gallons of Dreyer’s ice cream—and a lot of new friends. “We moved here about 18 months ago. It’s our first home. We’ve [my husband Victor and I] been struck by how friendly our neighborhood is. We knew a number of different families on the street, but we have Dreyer’s to thank for helping us create a wonderful tradition.”

Instead of just having the ice cream, the Adints and their next-door neighbors, Al and Jan Sigone, decided to invite everyone on the block to a barbeque. The two couples provided hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages and a grill and everyone else brought side dishes. They, of course, had Dreyer’s ice cream for dessert.

The food tent at the first Croydon Avenue block party proved to be a hit, although even after seconds, there was a lot left over. Neighbors first lined up for barbeque and the side dishes and then came back for the Dreyer’s Ice Cream treat that Laura Adint won in the Neighborhood Salute contest. There was enough food and ice cream left over that everyone that attended had leftovers for the week.

“Everyone had a great time. In fact, we all had such a good time, we decided to do this every year,” Adint said. At least 60 people attended, she said and they brought so much food that there were plenty of leftovers for everyone to take something home, including ice cream.

In addition, she noted a mix of ages. The youngest attending was 4 weeks old, she said, and there were some senior citizens. “There’s a good mix of people on the block. Many of us are two-income families and have moved here within the last few years. Others have lived here since the homes were built, about 40 years ago, and they have grandchildren now,” she said.

Everyone who came also helped clean up so that they continued having fun until they were finished. And, with all those hands helping, clean up was a breeze and over a bit too quickly.

“It was a very good time and well worth the effort,” Adint concluded.