Elena's Blueberry Pie is a limited summer flavor from Graeter's, made with blueberry and pie crust in a French Pot® base. It was created nearly twenty years ago by the Desserich family and named for their daughter Elena, who died of DIPG. It returns July 30 through August 9 for Cones for the Cure, and every dollar raised funds pediatric brain cancer research.
That is the short version. The longer one is worth your time.
Who was Elena?
Nearly twenty years ago, a family won the chance to create their own Graeter's flavor. They chose blueberry pie.
The family was the Desseriches. Their daughter Elena was fighting DIPG, a form of pediatric brain cancer that at the time carried no survival odds at all. Her parents were told there was no chance. Elena died.
Her father, Keith Desserich, went on to co-found The Cure Starts Now, an organization built around a specific idea: that DIPG is the cancer to solve first, and that solving it opens the door to others. He describes it as the home run cure, and a lot of researchers agree with him.
Why is it called Elena's Blueberry Pie?
It was not, originally. The flavor launched as Blueberry Hope Pie.
Nobody called it that. Guests walked into our scoop shops and asked for Elena's flavor, over and over, year after year. So we renamed it to match what people were already saying.
Pick up a pint and you will find her artwork on the front and on the back. That was not a packaging decision. It is the reason the pint exists.
What is Cones for the Cure?
Cones for the Cure is an 11-day fundraiser held at participating Graeter's scoop shops. In 2026 it runs Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, August 9.
Graeter's has been part of it since the beginning. We were one of the first companies The Cure Starts Now approached, and the campaign has run every summer since, built around the flavor the Desseriches created.
Every dollar donated goes into research. Not overhead, not administration, not marketing. Research.
How do I donate?
Visit any participating Graeter's scoop shop between July 30 and August 9. Any amount is welcome, and several tiers come with something back:
- $5 — a coupon for a free sugar cone, which retails for $5.25
- $10 — four coupons: buy one get one free sundae, a free cone, 25% off a milkshake, and a free pint with a $20 purchase
- $20 or more — a golden cone
Donations stack however you want them to. Four $5 gifts, two $20 gifts, whatever fits.
While you are in the shop, look up. Locations display artwork from children currently in treatment for pediatric brain cancer. Families in the middle of these diagnoses come out during the campaign, and the eleven days turn into something closer to a gathering than a fundraiser.
How much does Cones for the Cure raise?
The Cure Starts Now now operates 60 chapters and funds more than 200 clinical trials, supported by campaigns like this one. Keith Desserich frames the progress in blunt terms: the conversation has moved past hope. It is about treatments and therapies now.
That shift happened because families kept showing up, and because eleven days in a scoop shop turns out to add up.
What does Elena's Blueberry Pie taste like?
Blueberry runs through a dense base with pie crust pieces worked in. It reads more like a slice of pie than a fruit ice cream, which is what the Desseriches were after when they built it.
It is made the way everything here is made: 2.5 gallons at a time in a French Pot®, turned slowly, handpacked by hand. Small batches mean less air, and less air means the flavor lands heavier on the spoon. More on how the French Pot works here.
When does Elena's Blueberry Pie leave?
It is seasonal. It comes back each summer for a limited window and then it is gone until the next one. This year that window is eleven days long.
Order Elena's Blueberry Pie for delivery or find the scoop shop nearest you.
