Pork chops and ice cream will go together well Wednesday night.

Clowns named Porkchop and Honeybunch will entertain kids while residents eat handmade ice cream at the 27th annual Ice Cream Social at the Orchard Street Pump House, 368 Orchard St.

The event starts at 5 p.m. when adults and children will hand crank ice cream mix provided by Melting Moments Homemade Ice Creams, 313 E. Grand River Ave.

The pump house, which was built in 1934, housed one of the first municipal water-softening plants in the nation. About 40 years later, when the plant wasn’t needed anymore, it was converted into a community center by the Bailey Community Association.

“People in the neighborhood liked the building and wanted to refurbish it as a community center,” said Kris Gemmill, a member of the pump house board of directors. “We had the first ice cream social (in 1974) to celebrate it.”

Gemmill - who has attended every social except one, when she was ill - said the event was centered around borrowing ice cream makers from people all over the neighborhood, until the pump house finally got its own ice cream maker about 10 years ago.

“It’s something I’ve tried to be at because I love it,” she said. “It is such a happy occasion with goodwill - a real nice thing for children to have as a tradition and come to year after year.”

Dale Downes, a Bailey Community resident, said he has attended the event every year with his three young children since his family moved to the neighborhood six years ago.

“It is a nice time to get together and visit your neighbors during the summer,” he said. “It attracts people from many blocks around the pump house.”

Downes also said the event is fun for kids, with clowns, jugglers, a fire truck and bands.

“There is an East Lansing fire truck and the kids love to crawl into that and see what it is about,” he said. “The kids will also run into friends from school that live in the neighborhood.”

Beverly Baten, an East Lansing City Council member and Bailey Community resident, said the experience of hand cranking the ice cream makes the event very enjoyable.

“We had a hand crank when the kids were little,” she said. “It was a lot of work, but always worth it because the kids got to crank - you haven’t lived until you’ve hand cranked ice cream.”

The event also serves as a time to honor residents who have worked hard to keep the neighborhood looking nice. Those residents receive “We Care” certificates as well as a picture of their home in the pump house. Neighborhood art is also displayed inside the pump house.