Life
13 Places You Can Get FREE Ice Cream On National Ice Cream Day This Weekend
The holiday that we've all been waiting for since the frost first thawed this spring is finally here. Yes, once summer is here, all most people want to do is eat their mass in ice cream — so it makes perfect sense that this cooling treat gets its very own holiday in the summer. You'll want to know about all of the National Ice Cream Day deals and freebies, because it's happening on Sunday, Jul. 21 — and the only thing more exciting about an ice cream celebration is a free ice cream celebration, of course.
So, how did this day start? According to The International Dairy Foods Association, in 1984 President Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month and designated the third Sunday in July to be National Ice Cream Day. In the proclamation, Regan states, "I call upon the people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities." Also stated in the proclamation, "Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food." You heard it here: observe the holiday! Eat all the ice cream! It's nutritious and delicious!
Here I've rounded up some deals and discounts that you're not going to want to miss out on. July might be Ice Cream Month, but Jul. 21 is the day that our favorite creameries are celebrating with specials, so jump on it while you're hot.
Baskin-Robbins
For only $7.99 you can get two pre-packed quarts for when you can't decide which flavor to get. Yes, you're getting rewarded for getting more, it's a good deal.
Carvel
Carvel is offering customers a BOGO free cup or cone of soft ice cream from open to close at all Carvel stores.
Dippin' Dots
Show up at Dippin' Dots to get a free mini cup at participating stores and shopping centers across the country.
Cold Stone Creamery
If you join Cold Stone’s rewards program by July 20 you can get a BOGO deal on National Ice Cream Day — so hurry! Additionally, if you buy $30 in gift cards online, you’ll get a extra $10 sent to you in an e-card.
Tipsy Scoop
The first 100 visitors at the Manhattan or Brooklyn Tipsy Scoop locations will receive a free scoop of Malibu Piña & Chill! If you're not familiar, that's ice cream and booze, mixed together into a sweet treat.
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Customers who mention "National Ice Cream Day" at the ice cream counter will get one free scoop of ice cream at the following store locations: New York City (Third Ave Flagship, Union Square, Hudson Yards, Madame Tussaud’s Times Square), East Hampton, Miami (Lincoln Road) and Los Angeles (Farmer’s Market).
So Delicious Dairy Free
So Delicious Dairy Free is giving away free pints of their dairy free ice cream in an Instagram contest. All you have to do is post on Instagram, tagging the person you'd like to share a pint with, the #ShareAPint, and the first 500 tags will receive a coupon for a free pint of So Delicious frozen dessert.
Van Leeuwen
Van Leeuwen is opening up a new ice creamery on MacDougal in the West Village in NYC. To celebrate, they're offering dollar scoops between 1 and 3 p.m.. You can get one scoop of any classic or vegan flavor in a cup or a sugar cone.
Whole Foods
Whole Foods is going all out for ice cream month. Starting from July 17 to 30, you can get 35 percent off all ice cream for Prime members. This includes all 365 Everyday Value ice cream flavors.
Fannie May
Participating Fannie May stores across Chicago will be offering a BOGO one scoop promotion. You can choose from vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate, salted caramel and cookie dough – or mix and match. Check here to see if the Fannie May near you is participating.
Nutella Cafe
From 3 to 5 p.m. at the Nutella Cafe, the first 50 customers will get one free frozen Nutella Pop topped with chopped hazelnuts. If you aren’t one of the first 50, you'll still get a complimentary scoop of the gelato flavor of you choice until 5 p.m..
Halo Top
Halo Top is giving away thousands of free Halo Top Pops to celebrate the holiday in an ~extra sweet~ way. The ice cream company is partnering with Bumble (the dating, business and bestie app) to give away Halo Top Pops. For one-day-only, ice cream lovers can claim a coupon eligible for a free box of pops while supplies last. Here's how to get free pops: Swipe in Bumble and try to find the coupon which will be listed as a potential match, head to halotop.com/nicd for a downloadable coupon, or, if you live in Austin, Charlotte, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York City, you can keep a look out for a pop up ice cream truck, serving the new pops.
Godiva
Godiva boutiques and cafés across the country will be offering a BOGO 50 percent off deal on soft serve and parfaits so get your chocolate fix and your ice cream fix in one place!
This article was originally published on July 12, 2018 and was updated on July 18, 2019.
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