A Pentagon City ice cream shop is hosting a meet-and-greet this weekend with a local, internet-famous toucan.
Chester, a 9-year-old toucan with nearly 850,000 followers on TikTok, will be posing for photos at Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream (1201 S. Joyce Street) from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday.
While Chester is uncomfortable with petting, he loves interacting with humans and is a pro at having his picture taken, owner Maria Stagliano told ARLnow.
“He’ll hop on people’s arms and pose with them,” Stagliano said. “Sometimes, I put him on kids’ heads, but I always have to warn people that he does poop every five minutes. I’d say one-third of people do get pooped on, but there’s no smell.”
In honor of the bird, Mimi’s is debuting a Chester-inspired banana split for the event dubbed “Banana Beak,” which includes scoops of coconut, mango and ube flavored ice cream.
Some may remember Chester from his misadventure getting stuck behind a dishwasher and being rescued by Arlington firefighters last September.
Stagliano, who lives in Arlington, came across the toucan five years ago at a Falls Church bird store — left there by his previous owner. Formerly a volunteer at a parrot rescue, Stagliano loves birds, and she was concerned that someone without her experience would purchase the exotic pet.
After visiting Chester at the store a few times, she decided to bring him home with her.
A few months into toucan ownership, encouraged by her family’s persistent hassling for videos, Stagliano started posting on Tik Tok. Chester quickly went viral, and Stagliano has started hosting meet-and-greets for Chester’s fans.
A Guinness brewery in Baltimore threw him a birthday celebration featuring a new beer brewed in his honor.
Last year, Stagliano and Chester decided to take a walk to one of her favorite local ice cream spots: Mimi’s.
“They were extremely welcoming and really sweet,” Stagliano said of Mimi’s staff. “And then when we came back in this summer, the owner, Rollin, recognized him and said ‘Chester!’ I just thought it would be perfect to collaborate for a meet-and-greet.”
