Get the scoop on National Ice Cream Day, Lofty Pursuits contest, favorite flavors

Does anyone really needs an excuse to eat ice cream? Chilling out with a cone of mint chocolate chip or strawberry goo dripping down your hand is a rite of passage in summer.

Make sure to get yourself a scoop or two when National Ice Cream Day and Lofty Pursuits' 13th Annual Ice Cream Eating Contest coincide on Sunday, July 21.

Lofty Pursuits will host the Tallahassee Open Ice Cream Eating Contest from 3-4 p.m. Sunday at 1355 Market Street in the Verandas at Market Street. Sign up is at 2:30 p.m. It's free, but contestants are selected at random. Returning champions are prioritized.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring July as national ice cream month, and the third Sunday in July, national ice cream day.

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Lofty Pursuits will randomly select up to 8 contestants for each division out of the potential ice cream eaters who sign up. Last year's winners will automatically be in the contest. There are two divisions, Under 16, and 16 and over. Prizes will be given to the top three people who can eat the most in each category.

Each contestant will have three minutes to eat as much ice cream as they can, and will be judged by the amount of ice cream given to them minus the weight of what they left over. The winners will win Lofty Pursuits gift certificates.

"Mind you, every day in some way is National Ice Cream day. On Sunday, July 21st, we just see who can eat the most of it," Lofty Pursuits owner Gregory Cohen said in a press release.

Keep the ice cream celebration going all month at shops around town. Peterbrooke Chocolatier is offering a free scoop of gelato on Wednesdays through July.

Other favorite Tallahassee spots for cold sweet treats

Barb’s Gourmet Brittles , Lake Ella, 1671 N. Monroe St.

Big Easy Snowballs , Lake Ella, 1621 N. Monroe St.

Bruster's Real Ice Cream , 2475 Apalachee Pkwy; 1709 W. Tharpe St.

Cold Stone Creamery , 1444 W. Tennessee St.

The Good Berry Acai Bowls , 1325 Thomasville Road

Jeremiah's Italian Ice : 1400 Village Square Blvd Ste 32; 1919 Tennessee St., 8474 Bannerman Road

Lofty Pursuits , 1355 Market St.

NuBerri Frozen Yogurt , 101 N Blair Stone Road

Peterbrooke Chocolatier , Miracle Plaza, 1817 Thomasville Road, Suite 410

Southwood Sweets , 3197 Merchants Row Blvd Ste. 130

SneauxBall , 2033 S. Adams St.; 2049 N Monroe St. (drive thru)

Sweetfrog , 3439 Bannerman Road, Ste 102

Florida's favorite ice cream flavors

Who knew that Superman ice cream could fly in Florida. Although not everyone is familiar with the red, blue and yellow colored ice cream, it's No. 2 in the state, according to a press release from restaurant supplier Affordable Seating.

Here's how they ranked the favorites according to Google searches for over 100 different flavors ahead of ice cream day.

• Florida’s favorite ice cream flavor is officially Neapolitan, generating 4,328 average monthly searches.
• Superman is the second favorite flavor in Florida, with an average of 3,531 monthly searches.
• Neapolitan is the most popular across the US, with Americans searching the flavor 60,200 times on average per month.

Flavors include Neapolitan, vanilla, Superman, chocolate, strawberry, praline, rocky road, watermelon, rum raisin, bacon and more.

The top keywords revealed the most popular ice cream flavors in each U.S. state.

Florida’s top five ice cream flavors in the survey are:

Neapolitan - 4,328 average monthly searches

Superman - 3,531 average monthly searches

Vanilla - 3,361 average monthly searches

Rocky Road - 2,602 average monthly searches

Mango - 2,577 average monthly searches

If you go

What: Tallahassee Open Ice Cream Eating Contest

When: 3-4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Lofty Pursuits, 1355 Market Street in the Verandas at Market St.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Get the scoop on National Ice Cream Day, Lofty Pursuits contest, favorite flavors