By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

It was a sweet summer night last Wednesday for a group of sugar fiends as Oxford Mainstreet (OMI) hosted their second “Taste of Oxford” event with a dessert crawl through local businesses in the downtown area. The event bought attendees desserts at four different stops through town.

Interim Executive Director of OMI, Leslie Sleesman, shared that the Taste of Oxford events are meant to introduce people to the local restaurants and build community.

“We want to introduce people to business and give an opportunity to meet neighbors and try something new,” Sleesman said. “We’re hoping people will find new things in their own hometown.”

The dessert crawl began on Market Street with a stop at La Lupita for ice cream. The “Mangonada,” a mango water ice topped with chopped mango pieces, a Chamoy sauce and tamarind chile pepper straw, was the most popular pick from the dozen attendees.

In addition to the Mangonada, La Lupita offers 20 flavors of homemade ice cream with unique creations including a tequila flavored ice cream and a cucumber split. Omar Sanchez, son of owners Rosa and Armando Sanchez, emphasized his parents’ creativity in their ice cream and in the many homemade piñatas decorating the shop.

“I like everything about this,” said one attendee while enjoying the Mangonada. “I’m coming back.”

After La Lupita, Sleesman encouraged the group to look in shop windows on the walk to the second stop at Wholly Grounds on Third Street as the Oxford Arts Alliance collaborated with local businesses to hang original art in shop windows just for the event.

Upon arrival at Wholly Grounds, the sweet-toothed crowd were each given one of their celebrated, homemade donuts, a bag of cinnamon sugar donut bites and to wash it all down, a coconut lime refresher. The group took advantage of the treats and ample seating of the coffeehouse and shared conversations with their neighbors.

A short walk across the street brought the group to the Oxford Arts Alliance, where the new 2025 Members’ Exhibition was on display along with cakes made by Board President Vanessa Ross. Ross, who owns Vanessa Ross Cakes, made and individually packaged two cake flavors for each guest: a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a lemon cake with raspberry filling and champagne frosting. Both the art and the cakes were thoroughly enjoyed by the group.

At the arts alliance, each attendee of the dessert crawl introduced themselves to the group and shared reasonings for attending the event. From born- and raised-Oxfordians to visitors from Lincoln University, Kennett Square and Cecil County, each guest was enticed by the opportunity to share a new experience.

“There’s more than just Kennett Square,” said one attendee from Lincoln University, “so we keep coming to Oxford.”

Ice cream, donuts and cake were not enough to stop the final indulgence of gelato from La Sicilia. Attendees sat and chatted in the pizza restaurant to conclude the successfully sweet evening. Sleesman thanked everyone for attending and shared that more Taste of Oxford events will be coming soon and to check their website for updates.

Mother and daughter duo Marie and Angel Green from Cecil County and Kennett Square respectively, finished their evening by sharing that they enjoyed all the options presented and are happy to explore more of what Oxford has to offer.

“We like to try new things in Oxford,” Angel said.

To contact Contributing Writer Gabbie Burton, email [email protected].