Make way for the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!

(npr.org) Credit: AnnMarie Hordern
Doug Quint and his Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Doug Quint launched his big gay ice cream truck in June of 2009 in New York. Quint is actually a professional bassoonist but came up with the idea to drive around in ice cream truck.

With only a few months under his belt with this new venture Quint has a big following. His ice cream treats are not the ordinary either. He sells variations such as a chocolate bacon covered ice cream sandwich and Nutella that is used on the inside of his waffle cones. Doug sells more than 20 toppings for ice cream and shakes such as ground wasabi peas, caramelized bacon, Trix cereal and pickles.


(culinarytravel.about.com)
Credit: Photo by Alison Stein Wellner

Now here's the big question. What makes The Big Gay Truck gay? When I first learned of this (from http://snackreligious.blogspot.com) I was concerned and wasn't sure I could get on board with the idea. I thought that perhaps whoever owned this truck was attempting to exploit the idea of being gay or stereotype it in some way. I decided to do some digging. According to NPR

"Every day, at least a couple of times," Quint says. "And every time, I say, 'I make it gay.' "

Quint also gets asked whether he's gay.

"If I weren't gay, I wouldn't call it the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. And if I weren't happy, I wouldn't have the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. It would just be the big crabby ice cream truck," Quint says.

"It kind of came about because the idea of a middle-aged gay guy driving an ice cream truck seemed pretty humorous and a little bit suspect to me. I love the idea of what people might be saying, so I thought, 'Whatever they might be saying, let's grab it and amplify it times a hundred and label the truck that way,' " Quint says. "There's gonna be no doubt. It's the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck."

I'm glad that Quint is not using the truck as a way to attack gay culture but rather it seems to be a celebration of him. His own idea and his own status. Reportedly Quint is a happy fella and proud of his sexuality and just wants to do something fun.

I will say, I'm glad that the truck doesn't live up to the gay stereotypes of being ultra flamboyant. The truck is gay because Doug Quint is gay. Homosexual and indeed happy.

For more information on Quint's Big Gay Truck and to find out where he'll be truckin' next you can go to his website http://www.biggayicecreamtruck.com. He can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Quint also sells t-shirts on his website.


The shirts come in various colors and styles.


(biggayicecreamtruck.com)
Photo taken in Portland, ME

They even have them for little tykes!

Doug Quint says that he is traveling with the truck throughout the Summer while his orchestra is on break. I have no idea if he'll keep it up afterward or not. I guess we'll all just have to stay tuned.