Ice Cream Sundaes Reunite Community: Scoop on the Loop

Members of the Grenola Loop continued their long-standing tradition.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

By HENRY KAMER

Joy and laughter filled the air at Douglas Park in Santa Monica on September 14, 2025. Upwards of sixty people from the Las Casas-Grenola Loop neighborhood (and general Pacific Palisades) streamed into the park to grab a delicious sundae to celebrate the 27th annual “Scoop on the Loop.”

The toppings and whipped cream made this sundae especially delicious.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

For anyone not familiar with Scoop on the Loop (which included this reporter before he attended the event,) it was started by long-time Grenola Loop residents Susan Corwin and Michelle Headrick in 1998. Corwin explained that she was inspired to start the event when her and Headrick’s kids were entering kindergarten.

“We started it as a little back to school celebration,” Corwin noted, evolving into a tradition to the point where she remarked she “knows everybody here. I’ve been to weddings, I’ve been to bar mitzvahs, and I’ve even been to funerals.”

The Grenola Loop neighborhood has a long history of strong community bonds. For a few years before the first “Scoop on the Loop” in 1998, Corwin and Headrick and other neighbors held ‘progressive dinners,’ where different parts of the dinner (appetizer, main,  dessert, etc.) would be served at different neighbors’ houses. These dinners were popular around the holidays, especially with Corwin’s “New Years Dish.”

Neighborhood legend and Village Green icon Marge Gold had “ice cream socials” a long time ago in her front yard when her grandaughter stayed with her when her mother was working. Gold’s model of community connection through ice cream and a plethora of delicious toppings inspired Corwin and Headrick to continue the tradition.

Normally, “Scoop on the Loop” is held at the classic View Site at 303 N Grenola Street. Grenola Loop neighbors Deborah Lloyd, Blake Merkin and Paul Gabbert were instrumental in acquiring the View Site back in 1997. To get the plot of land, they had to fight off a landowner who was aggressively trying to expand his properties, which required donations from neighbors. Luckily, an abundance of money streamed in quickly from other residents, demonstrating the strength of the neighborhood. Once the rights to the property were acquired, it was turned over to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Lloyd and Gabbert remarked, “that was a fun time … we knew the whole neighborhood.”

However, this year was different, of course.

Corwin and Headrick were planning to hold the event in the Palisades but reconsidered the location when more than a dozen families started to back out as kids were worried about the safety and returning to a place that holds so many memories but has been forever changed.

So, five days before the event, Corwin and Headrick made the decision to switch the event to Douglas Park, where they had been holding monthly meetings since the fire. Immediately, Corwin and Headrick were flooded with calls and texts from families saying they were coming and excited to celebrate another year.

Scoop on the Loop founders Michele Headrick (left) and Susan Corwin (center) are joined by a friend.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Even though the event wasn’t held at the traditional View Site, it was still a success with neighbors streaming in to enjoy ice cream and toppings galore. There was even a big posterboard titled “27th Annual Scoop on the Loop” with a collection of images of the event over the years, giving many neighbors a blast to the past.

Just like hugs, reconnection, laughter and sweet treats could be found at the View Site during Scoop on the Loop, Douglas Park provided a place where all these beautiful community moments could flourish once again.

Choosing toppings can be a serious business.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN