At this year’s Teddy Bear Picnic, which took place Sunday, Sept. 28 at St. Agnes School in Lake Placid, The Local Scoop, unsurprisingly, proved extremely popular. Children and parents lined up to choose between four kinds of ice cream, served free of charge in cones or bowls. Various self-serve toppings were on hand for embellishment.

The ice cream is typically served free of charge to individual customers at a private event, like the Teddy Bear Picnic, Ashley said. At a public event individual customers would pay. Her cart holds four kinds of ice cream; she supplies a flavor list for event organizers to choose from.

The ice cream comes from King Brothers Dairy, made with milk from their farm in Schuylerville.

She has owned The Local Scoop for about a year. This last summer has been a busy one, with LeClair scooping for weddings, community gatherings and events, including birthday parties, library celebrations, church picnics, Ironman, a square dance, a bridal shower and seven concerts at the Wilmington Town Beach.

People are curious about her business. Isn’t scooping that much ice cream hard on the arms and wrists?

Maybe not for someone with experience.

“I worked at Ben & Jerry’s in Lake Placid when I was in high school,” LeClair said. Rock hard ice cream is difficult to scoop. “You have to get the temperature just right.”

How did she come up with such an original way to make money?

The idea came from social media, and yes, it is different. Original, she agrees: “That’s exactly why I did it.”

She added, “I love doing it for the community.”

Ashley grew up in Bloomingdale and now lives in Keene Valley with her husband, Lance LeClair, and their two children, a boy, 6, and a girl, 3. Ashley is an assistant Lake Placid Middle-High School teacher, which leaves her summers free. While she has worked various events with The Local Scoop during the summer months, she has still had lots of time to spend with her kids.

She has done well with The Local Scoop over the summer, and now it’s back to school. So does she plan to continue with her independent business? Yes.

“I’m hoping in the future to have different styles of umbrellas, and different toppings, unique for each event,” she said. Plans are already in the works to serve ice cream at the Keene fireworks celebration in 2026.

How have people located her for their events? By word of mouth, mostly, and on social media. To contact Ashley LeClair, email her at thelocalscoopcart@gmail.com.