Here’s the Real Scoop

Soc’s Ice Cream made 100 kids happy Wednesday at an ice cream party for the Saugus Youth & Recreation Department summer camp

  It’s pretty special when a kid gets to enjoy a free dish of ice cream with friends while a Boston television crew hangs around to film the party. But a hundred Saugus children in the town’s Youth & Recreation Department’s summer camp – students who will be attending classes from second to the eighth grade when classes begin this fall – went home happy Wednesday (Aug. 3) afternoon.

  “This was so awesome! I think the kids had a great time,” said Crystal Cakounes, the interim director of the Youth & Recreation Department.

  “There was some very positive energy here today. And I’m very flattered that Sharon thought about us. I’m so grateful toward her, for bringing so much fun to the kids of Saugus,” she said.

  Cakounes was referring to Sharon Cacciola, the generous owner of Soc’s Ice Cream of Saugus, who provided the ice cream and toppings for the party.

  Soc’s is not only a popular ice cream shop in town. It’s also been one of the select few shops across the state that’s been featured over the past two years on WBZ-TV’s “Ice Cream Social.” On Wednesday, a WBZ camera crew was on the scene behind the Belmonte STEAM Academy to film a segment for its news feature series.

  “It’s our second year of doing Ice Cream Socials,” said Theo Berenson, a WBZ director.

  “Last year, we worked with the ice cream shops – the best ones in Massachusetts. And this year, we’re celebrating the shops in the communities they’re in – with an organization that’s good for the community,” she said.

  Cacciola said she had no problem selecting the Saugus Youth & Recreation Department for all the good work it does in the community. “Crystal does a wonderful job running the program with minimal funding from the town,” Cacciola said.

  Soc’s Ice Cream provided all of the ice cream, while the WBZ camera crew filmed the ice cream social. In addition, Berenson and other crew members joined in scooping out the ice cream for the kids.

  WBZ has been hosting ice cream socials throughout the summer as part of its morning show.

  During Wednesday’s stop in Saugus, Cakounes said she was glad of the way the event was scheduled in Saugus. “Thank goodness this wasn’t set for tomorrow [Thursday, August 4] – a possible 100 degree weather day,” she said.

  With the hot weather expected yesterday (Thursday, August 4), Cakounes expected that the summer camp would head indoors because of the heat. The camp is finishing Week Four of a six-week program.

  Cacciola prides herself in being “a fourth generation Saugonian” who graduated from Saugus High School in 1981. Later, she set out to become a medical assistant. “I never dreamed that I would be in the ice cream business. That was the furthest thing from my mind when I graduated,” Cacciola said.

  Then about six years ago, the former Soc’s owner put the business up for sale. “My son Stephen came home and said we should buy Soc’s,” Cacciola recalled.

  “I’m not a practicing medical assistant anymore. I work at Soc’s full-time. It’s a nice little business. I’ve got three boys and a girl. My whole family works at Soc’s. We’re hoping to open up a Soc’s Ice Cream Cafe by the Stoneham Zoo. We hope to open up in August,” she said.