March 23, 2010 marks the 32nd annual "Free Cone Day" at Ben and Jerry's ice cream locations in North America.http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/feature/free-cone-day/ The event falls on the same date as Free Pastry Day, which was held by the coffee-chain Starbucks. While the Starbucks promotion ended at 10:30am, the Ben and Jerry's promotion begins at noon and ends at 8pm.

Ben and Jerry's promoted their "Free Cone Day" on their Facebook page, where they called on customers to "RSVP" for the event. The event was listed as a "festival" on the page, and provided readers with a short history on why they have hosted the event for 32 years. The page reads:

• Our co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield first scooped up free ice cream all day back in 1979 as a way to thank the community for supporting them in their first year. Now it's an annual tradition at many of our scoop shops around the world. it's your chance to try any of our flavors for free."http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/the-problem-solver/2010/03/more-free-stuff-march-23-is-ben-jerrys-free-cone-day.html
  
  

Ben and Jerry's was founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. At the time, the company was based in Burlington, Vermont, where the headquarters remain today. The company was founded on exactly May 5, 2010 with a combined investment of $8,000 from the co-founders, along with an additional borrowed amount of $4,000. The first Ben and Jerry's shop was located in a renovated gas station at the intersection of College Streets and St. Paul, where the building was repaired and furnished using secondhand and refurbished materials such as scrap aluminum and newspaper. Approximately one year later following their grand opening, the company hosted their first annual "Free Cone Day", which has since become a national affair.http://www.benjerry.com/company/history/

In the year 2000, the ice cream manufacturers were purchased by the British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, which stands as the world's most prominent ice cream and food manufacturers. Unilever produces such notable brands as Bertolli, Lipton and Slim Fast.http://www.unilever.com/brands/foodbrands/

Ben and Jerry's free cone day is a great way to enjoy one of the company's many ice cream flavors for free. For more coupons and deal information for Ben and Jerry's, feel free to review Mahalo's page on Ben and Jerry's Coupons.