The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has destroyed yet another sacred tradition. Free Cone Day at Dairy Queen is canceled for 2021.
Dairy Queen typically celebrates Free Cone Day in March each year by handing out vanilla soft-serve cones to hungry visitors.
“As spring approaches, we all look forward to Free Cone Day, an event that attracts long lines at our restaurants. Given the state of COVID-19, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s event with your safety and the safety of our crew members in mind,” DQ says in a Feb. 18 Facebook post and in a media announcement.
The post on Dairy Queen’s main Facebook page has drawn more than 4,200 comments, more than 2,800 sad reactions and more than 1,000 angry reactions.
The ice-cream chain also postponed last year’s holiday, which was originally scheduled for March 19.
A search for “Cincinnati” on Dairy Queen’s website shows 24 locations, but the map notes that some are serving limited products and some are temporarily closed.
Honestly, canceling Free Cone Day this year is the right call, with the United States passing 500,000 COVID-related deaths this week. Braving crowds of people blinded by the allure of free soft-serve probably isn’t the best idea for any of us.
But still. Free stuff is good. Free ice cream is even better.
COVID-19 can kick rocks.
This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2021.