Downtown Palm Springs is gearing up for a return engagement with its sweetest fundraiser of the year. Scoop Palm Springs is bringing its ice cream festival back to Downtown Park on November 1, offering an afternoon of tastings, music and family-friendly activities while raising money for the LGBTQ Community Center's Community Food Bank.
The event, reported by NBC Palm Springs, will feature more than 20 local ice cream, gelato and paleta makers, continuing a format that drew crowds during its debut last November. Tickets are already on sale, with additional event details available at scoopsandiego.org. Organizers expect the second annual festival to build on the success of the first, which raised $21,000 for the food bank and collected more than 300 pounds of non-perishable food, according to Scoop San Diego.
That debut event, held November 2, 2025, brought together vendors, including Brandini Toffee, Gelato Granucci and Kreem, alongside entertainment and activities, according to a report from GED Magazine. The festival model was born in San Diego, where registered nurse Daniel Szpak created Scoop San Diego as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises funds for local organizations, according to SDVoyager. Szpak launched the initiative after selling his share in Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream, a commercial ice cream business he had co-founded.
A Food Bank Under Growing Strain
The stakes behind the sugar rush are serious. The LGBTQ Center of the Desert's Community Food Bank is the beneficiary of the festival's fundraising in the Coachella Valley.
Local food-access efforts underscore why that support matters. This summer, the neighborhood organization ONE-PS launched a two-month food challenge across 52 Palm Springs neighborhoods to restock the center's shelves.
Scoop's Growing Footprint
The Palm Springs event is part of a broader fundraising effort. Scoop San Diego's flagship festival raised a record $60,000 for Feeding San Diego this year during its eighth annual event, funding 120,000 meals. The nonprofit raises funds for local organizations, and this fall's Palm Springs event will again direct its proceeds to the LGBTQ Center's food bank.
The second annual festival is also drawing outside media attention. Entertainment publication The Hollywood Times was named an official media partner for the November event, pledging multi-channel coverage aimed at boosting regional attendance and donations while raising awareness of food insecurity in the Coachella Valley.
The November 1 event will bring food, music and fundraising to downtown Palm Springs.
