Amazing rides, endless showbag options and most importantly the famous Ekka Strawberry Sundae. A trip to the Ekka isn’t complete without that delicious ice cream treat.
The Strawberry Sundae was introduced to the Ekka in the 1950s. Ice cream company, Peter’s Ice Cream, decided to trial adding locally sourced fresh strawberries to their strawberry ice cream with a dollop of cream on top, served in a waffle cone. It was an instant hit and has remained an icon of the Ekka ever since.
In the late 1980s the Common Good became the official charitable organisation for the Strawberry Sundaes, with all profits going towards medical research at The Prince Charles Hospital.
In 2011, the iconic treat underwent some revamping with the help of the current local ice cream supplier Lick! Lick devised a premium, limited edition strawberry ice cream, just for the EKKA, showcasing fresh, local ingredients.
The success of the Ekka Strawberry Sundae would be obsolete without the thousands of volunteers who offer their time up every year. Each year, over 2,000 volunteers give up their time to scoop over 100,000 sundaes across 9 days, to help power life-changing medical research.
Every dollar raised through the sale of these iconic ice creams powers thousands of hours of medical research. The profits from the Strawberry Sundaes contributes to innovations in four key research areas, heart disease, lung disease, mental health and dementia.
Read more about the tips and tricks to making the perfect Ekka Strawberry Sundae.
Published: Thursday, July 14 2022
As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Or in the case of the last-minute cancellation of the Ekka last year, make tonnes of strawberries destined for the iconic Strawberry Sundaes into yummy strawberry jam!
Doctor Andrew Haymet recently received an Innovation Grant from The Common Good for his research project investigating a simple intervention to try to improve outcomes in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
The iconic Ekka Strawberry Sundaes return to Brisbane for the Royal Queensland Show this August for the first time in two years as The Common Good serves over 120,000 ice creams in their flagship event to support medical research.