Ben & Jerry's Announces First Free Cone Day in 4 Years

The day has come.

On Tuesday, Ben & Jerry's announced that Free Cone Day will take place on April 3.

The sweet day marks the first time in four years that customers can snag a free frozen treat. The last time ice cream enthusiasts celebrated the occasion was in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic put a wrench in future Free Cone Day plans.

Between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. on April 3, not only can shop-goers get in line as many times as they want, but they can also choose any flavor for the complimentary scoop.

Free Cone Day has been a brand tradition for over 40 years. In 1979, to celebrate the first full year Ben & Jerry's was launched, the co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, started the annual tradition, according to a release from the company.

The ice cream chain, which now has locations in 35 countries across the globe, has innovated several new flavors over the years, including the recent Lights! Caramel! Action! created by Ava DuVernay.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker, 50, "directed" her very own ice cream flavor with Ben & Jerry's, making her the first Black woman to ever grace the brand's pints. Made of vanilla ice cream with salted caramel and graham cracker swirls and pieces of chocolate chip cookie dough, the flavor is available in both dairy and non-dairy almond milk versions.

DuVernay spoke with PEOPLE in December about her creative and historic new dessert.

"There's no women of color overall [on Ben & Jerry's pints]. And so they understood that that's something that they wanted to change, and I'm happy that I was able to be involved in being a part of that change," she said.

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"I'm not taking it too seriously, but I do think that it's important to walk through doors that have not been opened. And it's not an accomplishment because someone has closed the door and then opened it. It is an action that needs to be taken," she continued. "And so I'm glad that they've done it. And if I can support that, I'm happy to do it."

DuVernay doesn't normally cook, but she does have a "big sweet tooth" so she took this as her chance to experiment with food. "I don't smoke, and I don't drink. My vice is sweets," she said. "I've always loved Ben and Jerry's and I didn't just want to put my name on something that they already had."

Ben & Jerry's has already released additional new pints in 2023, including Bossin' Cream Pie and Raspberry Cheesecake.