It's Free Ice Cream Day!

Do you like ice cream? Do you like free stuff? Do you hate free stuff, but like ice cream? Then get thee to an Ice Creamery. More specifically, high-tail it to the nearest Ben & Jerry’s, because today is Customer Appreciation Day, and that means free scoops of Groovy Brownie Nougat-Chunk Hippy Nut-Swirl Fudge-Monkey for everybody!

While “Free Cone Day” sounds like something LAist might have come up with when we recently celebrated “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day”, it’s actually a Ben and Jerry’s tradition that began all the way back in 1979. The result of a pact between, um, Ben and, uh, Jerry when they started their ice cream empire. The tie-dye wearing entrepreneurs agreed that if their business made it through the first year, they would trim their throat-beards, and reward their customers with a day of free ice cream. (I made up the part about the throat-beards.)

For my money, giving away free ice cream more than makes up for the fact that they have a flavor named after Phish, and another named after Dave Matthews. Actually, there are two flavors named after Dave Matthews if you count “vanilla”!

Not wanting to feel left out, on Wednesday, Baskin Robbins will be selling scoops of their ice cream for only 31 cents.

Find participating Ben & Jerry’s locations here. | For participating Baskin-Robbins, click here.

Photo by he@rt via Flickr