Thursday the 15th proved to be a great day for the 2010 Sargent's Rewards Club Ice Cream Social and Fiesta!  These summer parties were filled with great Garden Rewards club specials, food, fun and friends.  The Garden Rewards Club community is truly a vibrant one.  We thank you for your loyal business!  We sincerely hope you enjoyed the party and that Sargent's helps enhance your outdoor living experience everyday. 

A special thanks goes out to the live music from Jake Donze, Sean Murphy and Keylime Special.  They did a fabulous job!   In addition, a big thanks to Andy's Liquor, and Mike, in particular, for helping come up with great refreshments, from the Sprecher Rootbeer, Skinny Girl Margarita, Corona to the Livingston Sangria.  The latter went particularly well with the fiesta theme! 

We were proud to donate 5% of sales that evening to Mayowood's Garden Restoration Project. Thank you to the Mayowood volunteers for setting up your informative booths and answering all our our questions about the project. Also, thanks to the Zumbro Valley Audobon Society for your informational booth at Sargent's on 2nd. Of course, gardens and birds go hand-in-hand, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to learn more.

Lucky prize winners at both stores took home free on-site consultations with our professional landscape design staff and $100 in plant material, 4 months of fresh floral bouquets from Sargent's Floral and Gift and $150 Sargent's shopping sprees and Weber Q grills.

Thank you to the local artists, who displayed and sold their work at both stores.  Their art in the garden setting added something special to the works and the party itself. We enjoy featuring artists every year, new and old. This year, we featured artwork from several talented local artists including potter Amy Cass, painter Mary Ann Sahs, rosemaler Dean Vigeland, glass blower Diane Lund, painter/illustrator Carole Kinion Copeland and jewelry artist Cindy Mildebrandt at Sargent's on 2nd. At the North Store, we were happy to feature beaded jewelry artist Christy Allred. She specializes in bead weaving and wire work and welcomes special orders. She can be contacted at christy_allred@yahoo.com. We were happy to also have woodturner Dave Dunn, potter Dave Muntz and Cheryl Boyd, of Nature's Own...Leaves by Cheryl. She was on hand with her popular leaf impressed birdbaths, bowls and more. Nature notecards by Larry Tarnow with proceeds going to the Master Gardeners, botanical painter Denise Walser-Kolar and Jeanne Licari, oil and watercolor painter. These gifted local artists all added unique flavor to the party, and we were grateful to be able to share their work with you. The art throughout the areas adds to the excitement.

Thank you all so much for joining us for our ice cream social and fiesta! The event preparation was worth the efforts in making a fun, successful party! We're already thinking about next year's event and coming up with a plan. We welcome your suggestions and recommendations on the Garden Rewards Club party, so please feel free to let us know how we can continue to make this annual celebration a night to remember!

Finally, many of you were clamoring for the Fried Ice Cream topper recipe.  Unfortunately, the exact recipe is a secret one, developed by a very talented, former staff member, who helped a great deal figuring out how to serve all of you, but we can share the recipe used to develop it -

Refried Ice Cream Bars

2/3 cup  Butter
1cup  Brown Sugar
2 tsp.  Cinnamon
4 cups Crushed Corn Flakes (measure then crush)
1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream

Melt butter, stir in corn flakes and brown sugar.

Spread 1/2 in bottom of 9x13 pan.  Spread ice cream on top.  Top with remaining cereal.  Freeze.  Top with whipped cream and honey.  Serve.

Enjoy!

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