If you have a taste for a freebie, you might want to make a note in your diary for Monday, April 3. For that's the day when upmarket ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's are giving away as much free ice cream as you can eat - but there's a catch.
The USA company has brought back Free Cone Day after putting it on ice in 2020, and cinema chains such as Empire Vue and Odeon are taking part. However, in the North East, the only participating cinema is Empire Sunderland, where you can fill your boots from noon until 8pm on April 3.
The event just happens to coincide with the first day of the Easter school holidays, so if you want to do your bit to help Ben & Jerry hit their goal of serving over one million scoops, head off to the Empire Cinema in Lambton Street, Sunderland, and join the queue.
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The company is setting its sights on making the Free Cone Day the biggest since it started in 1979, and you can have as many free scoops as you want in any flavour available. Ice cream is limited to one scoop per serving, but you can join the queue as may times as you want for seconds and even third helpings.
The event started in Vermont, USA, in 1979, when the company's founders Ben (Cohen) & Jerry (Greenfield) celebrated their first year in business by opening the doors of their Scoop Shop and inviting local people in for as much free ice cream as they could eat. The event has been running annually since then and came to the UK for the first time in 1998.
Ben & Jerry sold their company to global company Unilever in 2020, and the ice cream is now available in 35 countries, with the first global Free Cone Day being held that year. A spokesperson said: "The day is still a thanks. The day is still about fans. Ice creams packed with Fairtrade chunks and swirls are handed out across April 3. In addition to more ice cream than our scoopers can shake their scoops at, our Scoop Shops around the world add their own swirl of fun to Free Cone Day.
"Ice cream lovers can get in line as many times as they would like. Flavor fanatics can try any flavour they prefer whether that is a classic like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which Ben & Jerry’s invented over three decades ago, or a brand-new flavour, like Lights! Caramel! Action!, which the company just unveiled in 2023 with award-winning director, film-maker and TV producer Ava DuVernay."
For a full list of participating cinemas and scoop shops, click here.
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