Happy Canada Day and Happy Birthday UW!
June 28th, 2017, may just have been the happiest day of the year. Everyone was smiling as the UWSA, gave out over 2100 ice cream comes in six and a half hours. In celebration of the University of Waterloo’s 6oth anniversary and Canada’s 150th birthday, the UWSA brought the Heavenly Dreams Ice Cream Truck to campus, where it travelled around giving out smiles.
Staff at the remote campuses including Architecture, Pharmacy and Stratford, also partook in ice cream without the truck, as ice cream was hand delivered to each location by volunteers.
Back on main campus, the day proceeded almost as planned, but not without a few twists to add excitement. The truck saw a 10-minute delay getting to the first stop at RAC2, due to the construction in town, and arrived to find the staff from RAC and RAC2 gathered and chatting. It was here that we first noticed that good weather was ordered, and delivered, with the truck!
The next stop, in X Lot, brought a long line of staff walking from the Optometry building, as well as a few from TechTown and the other buildings within eyesight.
Lost time was regained by the time we left X Lot, and we arrive in M Lot as scheduled. Here, although we served more ice cream, we also heard that some felt that practicing restraint was the best reason to smile.
Next, we moved inside the main loop, and parked the truck outside the Dana Porter Library. Here, we started having curious students come up and ask what was happening, some of them with wallets in hand, only to be surprised when we handed them a ticket for free ice cream. We also had competition from a group of research students trying to engage survey participants with Freezies; Freezies don’t hold up next to the power and performance of an Ice Cream Truck- Sorry.
Back on the ring road, the truck parked next in the E3 loading dock. Here, the students brought out creative excuses to try to get two ice cream cones. Sharing with your professors? I’m not so sure about that….
We closed up this location on time, and left a long line of students with instructions to meet the truck at the next stop. Some did, some didn’t, but there was a lineup waiting for us when we made it into the Math alley, now called William Tutte Way. Staff from MC, DC, M3 and ERC, along with faculty and students who saw the truck were, of course, rewarded with a free ice cream cones.
Our last stop was in EC3, where staff from all five East Campus buildings met us in the parking lot. More staff members here asked to bring an ice cream back to a colleague who was covering their jobs while they lined up; the comradery and friendship was very evident, and still everyone smiled. The very last ice cream cones when to staff from human resources, who came late and bravely confronted the moving truck, begging for it to stop, which of course, it did.
Thanks to everyone for coming out and helping to make June 28th the happiest workday of the year!
