Ice cream and splash pads keep Regina cool during heat wave

This week’s temperatures might have you melting, but at least one type of business is soaking up the sun – ice cream shops.

That includes Elle Grzeda, who owns Elle’s Cafe on Regina’s 13th Avenue, which sells vanilla, chocolate and Dole Whip soft serves with a variety of unique toppings.

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What sets Elle’s apart from the rest, according to Grzeda, is their ice cream recipe.

“A lot of ice cream shops will add air into ice cream. And it stretches it, making it more like whipped cream,” Grzeda said.

Instead, she tried to keep as much air out of her soft serve as possible when developing the recipe to make “a really rich and creamy ice cream.”

Devoting her summer to soft serve wasn’t the initial plan, though.

“We started off wanting to be a burger shack. And the first day we opened, we announced that we had ice cream,” Grzeda said. “And nobody bought burgers, but we sold almost a ridiculous amount of ice cream that day.”

So, she changed plans and asked her parents to drive to Calgary that night and pick up five more ice cream machines.

Within a weekend, Elle’s Cafe had cut the food and transitioned into an ice cream shop.

It proved to be a smart decision for Grzeda, with the business celebrating its fifth summer this year.

As the heat beat down on the splash park at Maple Ridge Park, kids enjoyed the cool water and making memories with friends. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)

Splashparks a big hit

With summer temperatures soaring, kids and families are flocking to splash parks in Regina to cool off.

Nine-year-old Ellie is soaking up the break after finishing school in June.

“We went shoe shopping, and then we came here,” she said.

Laughter and water splashes fill the air!

Amy, Gus, Ella, and Rome were enjoying the time with friends from the sidelines.

“We’re just taking it easy. We came to visit with our friends, and we thought, why not take in some water on this hot day?” the group said.

For some, the splash park’s water features are the main attraction. Theo was thrilled by the park’s wave-like sprays.

“That part where it turns on and off and it feels like you’re in a wave,” he said

Maverick and his friends, already soaked, have big plans beyond the splash pad.

“We’ve already got dunked on twice, maybe even four times!” he laughed, adding they’re heading bowling later.

Meanwhile, cousins Ellis, Georgia, Magnolia, Holt and Kensington all agreed on their favourite activity.

“Going under the buckets … and shooting each other with water guns!”

— with files from 980 CJME’s Jacob Bamhour