Ice Cream Capital of the World, Le Mars, Iowa 

In 1913, the Wells family started a dairy company out of their backyard in the small town of Le Mars, Iowa. Today, the city of Le Mars produces 100 million gallons of ice cream per year, more than any other city, prompting the Iowa state legislature to crown Le Mars the Ice Cream Capital of the World in 1994. 

With a population of 9,435, Le Mars seems like an unusual home for the acclaimed Blue Bunny company. Liz Crosten, manager of corporate communications and public relations, said that one of the two factories still stands at the edge of a housing development because the family just continued to build onto the original backyard business.

“When you know why it’s there, it makes perfect sense because it was in the back of their house — people here don’t think anything of it,” Crosten said.

She said the town’s residents seem undaunted by the large factories and the spotlight on their tiny community.

“I think you will find this community has embraced that Le Mars is the Ice Cream Capital of the World,” Crosten said. “People are very proud of Blue Bunny.”

Every year on Father’s Day weekend, the city of Le Mars celebrates its love of ice cream, and people travel across state lines to join them in a festival called Ice Cream Days. Sue Butcher, organizer of Ice Cream Days, said the festival originated in 1986 and was known as Homecoming ’86. In 1995, the town changed the festival’s name to Ice Cream Days Celebration, shortening it to Ice Cream Days the following year.

Butcher said that between 5,000 and 10,000 people come to the various events during the festival. These events include arts and crafts in the park, movie nights, dances, a fishing derby, a band concert and a parade.

Butcher said the arts and crafts in the park is a favorite, drawing at least 5,000 people. The huge parade consists of more than 100 entries, including antique cars, floats, bands, a drum corps and dance teams.

Another popular event is the outdoor movie night at the Olsen Cultural Event Center. Butcher said the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce puts up a large movie screen so it feels like a drive-in theater.

“It’s just a fun family event with free ice cream, and all the events are free to participate in,” Butcher said.

Ice cream-themed events are featured throughout the festival. Many of the children’s events, including the relay race, incorporate actual ice cream.

“Last year we had the little kids run a relay with a scoop of ice cream in a BoDean’s cone, which is a cone manufacturer in Le Mars,” Butcher said. “For the contest with the older kids, they dress in partial BoDean’s dress, like a worker, and carry the ice cream in the relay. We will definitely be expanding on that in future festivals.”

The town also boasts a year-round Blue Bunny visitor center with a museum and a 1920s ice cream parlor. The barn-shaped museum is hard to miss, with the fake sundae, ice cream truck and dairy cow sitting out front. Inside the barn, guests are transported back into the year 1913, when Fred H. Wells founded his dairy business.

The museum is self-guided, but group tours are offered by fourth generation family member Andrew Wells. Wells first worked for Blue Bunny as a child mowing the grass. He eventually moved to research and development and now guides tour groups through the visitor center museum. Members of each generation of the Wells family have all worked for Blue Bunny in some way. Wells said his dad was one of the first salesmen to work for the company.

The history section of the museum focuses on the Wells family and the start of Blue Bunny. The living room exhibit reflects the start of the family business, which began with an investment of $250 from a local businessman.

“With that [investment, Fred H. Wells] purchased a wagon, a horse and some milk jars and bottles to start his dairy production,” Wells said.
Soon the business grew and specialized in ice cream.

“Because of the response of family and friends, [the Wells] progressed their ice cream making into building a factory, which is what the north plant factory in Le Mars is today,” Wells said.

Today, Blue Bunny’s focus on ice cream is reflected in the museum. A small theater plays two films: “The History of Ice Cream” and “From Cow to Wow,” which describes how ice cream was invented and how it is made today.

Kathy Faber, manager of the Blue Bunny visitor center museum, said that kids specifically enjoy the museum’s interactive touchscreens and videos.

“There is a lot of information in those, and they are very educational, but they are also distinctly designed to be a lot of fun,” Faber said.
Kindergartners, college students and all the age groups in between visit the museum on school tours. The establishment’s many aspects cater to various ages and interests, Faber said.
“We’ve been told by teachers that the information presented, especially the one about how ice cream is made, is very scientifically accurate but gives the information in a way that’s fun,” Faber said.

The museum displays some of Blue Bunny’s first products, including oddities like pineapple cottage cheese. Relics from Blue Bunny’s history are shown throughout the room, such as clippings from the newspaper contest that decided the Blue Bunny name and mascot.

Another part of the museum includes a production line that mimics the manufacture and packaging of Blue Bunny treats, including favorites such as Bunny Tracks ice cream, BombPops and Drumsticks.

The final section of the museum highlights Blue Bunny’s progress and technology. Guests enter a futuristic room that contains interactive touchscreens featuring games, trivia and facts, with Blue Bunny products lining the walls.

After the tour of the history, science and production behind Wells’ ice cream, only a few steps stand between guests and the 1920s ice cream parlor, which serves 37 flavors of Blue Bunny ice cream.

The Blue Bunny visitor center and ice cream parlor draw people from across the state and around the world.

“We’ve had people from China, Japan, Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Alaska and Hawaii,” Faber said of the museum’s visitors. 

Whether visitors come for the town, the ice cream or the Ice Cream Days festival,Le Mars, Iowa, welcomes them.

Get Directions