Ice Cream Vans

An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (American) is a commercial vehicle which serves as a traveling retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near park, beaches, or other areas where people congregate. Ice cream vans often travel near where children play; outside schools, in residential areas, or in other locations. They usually stop briefly before moving on to the next street.

Ice cream vans are often brightly decorated and carry images of ice cream, or some other images, such as cartoon character. They sometimes have painted-on notices, which can serve a commercial purpose. Such as: "Stop me and buy one!" or a more serious one "Watch that child!", serving as a warning to passing motorists that children may run out into the road at the sight of the van, or appear without warning from behind it). Along the sides, a large sliding window acts as a serving hatch, and this is often covered with small pictures of the available products, with their associated prices. A distinctive feature of ice cream vans is their melodic chimes, and often these take the form of a famous and recognizable tune, usually "Turkey in the straw", "The entertainer", "Music Box Dancer" or "Camptown Races "hy7ju87ygt6pl,hgibhuygn cbxgt3h; or, in the United Kingdom, "Greensleeves", "Whistle While You Work" in Crewe and Nantwich, "You Are My Sunshine" in Vale Royal, and "Match of the Day" in other places^{[citation needed]}. In some places in the US, ice cream trucks play the song "Ice Cream" by Andre Nickatina (essentially just Turkey in the Straw with bass).

Ice cream van in Sydney, Australia.

Ice cream Van in Brisbane, Australia.

Most ice cream vans tend to sell both pre-manufactured ice lollies (American English: popsicles) in wrappers, and soft serve ice cream from a machine, served in a cone, and often with a chocolate flake (in Britain) or a sugary syrup flavoured with, for example, strawberry. Soft serve ice cream is served topped with sprinkles for a slight extra charge. Other vans tend to be run by small businesses, selling their own variety of ice cream.

In some locations, ice cream van operators have diversified to fill gaps in the market for soft drinks, using their capacity for refrigerated storage to sell chilled cans and bottles.

Early vans used relatively primitive techniques: their refrigeration was ensured by large blocks of dry ice so the motor was always turned off when the van was stopped for sales. The chimes were operated by a hand driven crank or a take-off from the motor, so they were not heard as often.