Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day is returning: How to get unlimited free scoops

It’s been over a month since Punxsutawney Phil predicted that spring would be coming early this year, and he was right — at least when it comes to the weather. But he was pretty wrong when it comes to free ice cream holidays — specifically from Ben & Jerry’s.

Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day is on April 16

Ben & Jerry’s is throwing its annual Free Cone Day celebration on Saturday, April 16, which is a few days later than last year’s event. This year, the ice creamery is hoping to serve 1 million scoops to make it the biggest one ever.

What is Free Cone Day?

On April 16, from noon until 8 p.m., the chain will be giving out as many free cones as customers want — that’s unlimited dessert. This means that if you have a personal record of ice cream cones you’ve eaten in one day, mid-April is the time to beat it.

Ben and Jerry’s has several new flavors like its Non-Dairy Strawberry Cheezecake, Impretzively Fudged, PB S’more or its in-store exclusive Mango flavor, which the brand says is “made of mango ice cream swirled with sweet cream ice cream.”

How did Free Cone Day start?

Free Cone Day began in 1979 as a way for co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield to mark the achievement of surviving their first winter in business as an independent ice cream shop. The Vermont winter was no joke, with an average temperature of 14.1 F and a record snowfall of over 50 inches. To celebrate their customers, they gave out free cones — and they’ve kept up the tradition almost every year since.

Last year, Free Cone Day made its return after a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic and, according to Ben & Jerry’s, fans showed them just how much they missed it.

“It was nothing short of amazing to see our fans back in our shops in their full Free Cone Day glory,” said Ben & Jerry’s CEO Dave Stever in a press release.

Stever said the company gave out over 970,000 scoops across the globe — and they’re hoping to top that number this year.

“We’re asking our fans to really bring it this year: invite their friends, family, neighbors, and help us beat our goal of 1 million scoops on Free Cone Day 2024,” he said.

Dairy Queen also has a Free Cone Day

Ben & Jerry’s isn’t the only company with a Free Cone Day. Dairy Queen’s Free Cone Day, when its non-mall locations nationwide will be giving away one free small vanilla soft-serve cone, will take place on the first day of spring: March 19.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com