The only thing better than a gourmet ice cream shop is a gourmet ice cream shop trying to get noticed.

This Saturday, Village Ice Cream will be having its grand opening, and CEO Billy “Mix Master” Friley is stirring up a bunch of ideas to get Calgary into his shop.

My favourite?  Friley has challenged Calgarians to pitch crazy ice-cream flavor ideas for him to create, from scratch, in the 24 hours before the grand opening.

“I’m gonna do it!” Friley told me, in an interview Wednesday night.  “I’m going to decide what flavor is doable for me, in our last minute preparations, and going to make it Friday, to be ready for Saturday.”

Mix Master Billy Friley and Jessica Alba

The deadline to send in flavour ideas is Thursday at 5 pm.

A local start-up located in the East Village, Village Ice Cream makes small batch, artisanal ice cream and sorbet.  Until now, Friley has sold his his ice cream mainly to high-end Calgary restaurants, such as Notable.

Follow @villageicecream for other grand opening specials, such as two for one cones all day!  Village Ice Cream is located at 431, 10th Ave SE, and you can reach the Mix Master at info@villageicecream.com.