Lovers of ice cream—the most intensely flavored ice cream of all time, engineered by the clever Holsteins of Vermont—a beloved tradition is circling around again: Free Cone Day from Ben & Jerry’s. Mark it on your calendars: April 16 is the day to swing by your favorite scoop shop and get a bit of supreme goodwill in a cone. You can visit your closest participating shop (find it here) anytime between noon and 8pm. Is there a catch? No! Ben & Jerry’s has been doing Free Cone Day since 1979 as a way to thank customers...and maybe create new ones. It did pause the day for three years starting in 2020…. we all know why.
Known for being an environmentally conscious company as well as a very playful one, Ben & Jerry’s has created an online quiz to help you decide which flavor you should select on April 16. Answer just 11 brief multiple-choice questions to have the online secret shopper choose for you (we took the quiz and got chocolate fudge brownie as our flavor, which proves this is a highly effective survey). Along with the flavors you have come to expect, there are new ones to try like Mango swirled with sweet cream, only available at the scoop shops; Non-Dairy Strawberry Cheezecake; Impretzively Fudged; and (be still our collectively beating hearts) PB S'more. Flavors may vary based on the location.
It’s kind of funny to have to persuade people to take advantage of something free, especially something so desirable already, but the folks at Ben & Jerry’s are very invested in people’s coming to Free Cone Day because they are trying to meet the goal of serving 1 million scoops. Last year, the company gave away 970,000 scoops worldwide; this year, they think they can break into seven figures. You can even (gulp) go through the line twice to help boost numbers, according to the company’s press release.
Lick by lick, you could be part of history!