Downtown Ann Arbor Ben & Jerry's ice cream participates in 'Free Cone Day'
University of Michigan sophomores Alicia Biggs of Midland, Sarah Smith of Holland and Meaghan McLaughlin of Troy, from left, enjoy their free chocolate ice cream cones from Ben & Jerry's on State Street in Ann Arbor on Tuesday afternoon.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
The event — part of a national event organized by the Vermont-based retailer — will draw an estimated 4,000 people to the store at 304 S. State, said owner Matt Arthur.
The line was starting to form close to noon, and it was predicted to extend south toward Ashley's Bar by about 3 p.m.
"When you give out something for free in a bad economy, look out," Arthur said.
About 7 employees are staffing the ice cream counter, while multiple volunteers from the University of Michigan Transplant Center also will help. The group will benefit from donations during the annual event.
The most popular flavor, Arthur predicted, will be chocolate chip cookie dough.
But many visitors may end up trying the new Jimmy Fallon's Late Night Snack, featuring fudge-covered potato chips, he added.
Comments
Laura J
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 : 7:34 p.m.
I took my 3 boys to campus to eat dinner with the thought of standing in line while they played on the diag grass. The line was so long, we went to Stucchi's.
beachbaby
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 : 3:26 a.m.
i know this is off-topic, but i can't for the life of me figure out what is behind the girl's head on the right. anybody??
seldon
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 : 11:51 a.m.
Yeah. It's a wire sculpture attached to the building. It looks vaguely like a square ice cream cone.
MikeyP
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 : 3:02 a.m.
Though they're no longer part of the company other than advisors the fact that "Ben and Jerry" are supporters of the cop killer Mumia is reason enough for me to personally boycott this company. I won't even accept free ice cream from them. Some things aren't negotiable.
zip the cat
Wed, Apr 13, 2011 : 12:55 a.m.
I want to eat a vermontster,me and 25 other soles I've seen them made on a B/J program on discovery channell Something like 6000 cal. 200 gr fat.
Marshall Applewhite
Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 10:48 p.m.
I drove by the line today, and it looked like about an hour wait. Considering that an ice cream cone only costs $2 out of pocket, is this really worth it? I'd say no.
javajolt1
Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 9:13 p.m.
Wow! 4,000 people standing in line to get a free ice cream cone?? I would imagine spread over an entire day, that's still something like a couple of hours in line depending upon how many people are scooping cones. I'm assuming this is a social activity, because if college students and others think it is worth standing in line for hours to get a free ice cream cone, they're time isn't worth very much. I like ice cream.....but not that much.
Bertha Venation
Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 8:47 p.m.
Open 'til 8:00 P.M.? All RIGHT! Still not too late. C'mon HoverRound! Kick it into overdrive!!!! YEEEE HAAAA... Giddy yup!
Atticus F.
Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 6:35 p.m.
I perfect treat for all of the students getting ready for finals.