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This Tuesday, April 9, is an unofficial holiday for Ben & Jerry's fans. The Vermont-based ice cream maker is giving out free ice cream cones at its stores for Free Cone Day, a promotion that dates back to the company's early history.
In 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened the first Ben & Jerry's store in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. The business was a success, and on the one-year anniversary of its grand opening, Ben and Jerry held the first-ever Free Cone Day as a way to say thank you to the customers who supported them.
That local giveaway has since exploded into an international event. Ben & Jerry's in Saratoga Springs, New York joined the fun in 1984 and became the first shop outside of Vermont to participate in Free Cone Day. By 1993, every Ben & Jerry's in the U.S. was giving way free cones at the start of ice cream season, and today the holiday is marked in stores around the world.
As the Ben & Jerry's brand has grown in popularity over the decades, so has Free Cone Day: The company gave away 1 million scoops of ice cream on Free Cone Day 2015. To take advantage of this year's offer, visit your local Ben & Jerry's shop on April 9 between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time. Just be prepared to wait in a long line with follow ice cream lovers. You can find a Ben & Jerry's store near you here.