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  1. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia RollisonThe Merlin cone at Big Gay Ice Cream
  2. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia RollisonBlack Sesame, Corn and Green Tea ice cream cones at Sundaes & Cones
  3. Photograph: Melissa Sinclair
    Photograph: Melissa SinclairBreakfast Trash Soft Serve at Ample Hills
  4. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia Rollison

    Cornbread Sundae at OddFellows Ice Cream Co.

  5. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia RollisonChocolate, mango and raspberry gelatos at Amorino
  6. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia RollisonChocolate and Salted Caramel ice cream at Victory Garden
  7. Photograph: Virginia Rollison
    Photograph: Virginia Rollison

    Raspberry and Honeydew Melon gelato at il Labortorio del Gelato

     

  8. Photograph: Melissa Sinclair
    Photograph: Melissa SinclairThick Mint, The Lovelet and Cinnamax Ice Cream Sandwiches at MELT
  9. Photograph: Jennifer Arnow
    Photograph: Jennifer ArnowCereal milk ice cream in a cup topped with Corn Flake crunch at Momofuku Milk Bar
  10. Photograph: Alvina Lai
    Photograph: Alvina LaiFresh Mint and Lemon Lavender shortbreat at je & jo

National Ice Cream Day in New York: Free ice cream for a day

Your guide to celebrating National Ice Cream Day in NYC, including free ice cream and other ways to cool off in the city with our favorite frozen concoctions.

Written by
Time Out Kids editors
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One of the summer's most worthy holidays is National Ice Cream Day—a.k.a. free ice cream day—which falls on the third Sunday of the month. This year it's on July 21, 2013. The holiday was founded by Ronald Reagan in 1984 alongside his designation of July as National Ice Cream Month; he created both in recognition of ice cream's immense popularity (nearly 90 percent of the country's inhabitants eat it), its nutrition and, most of all, how fun it is to eat. In-the-know New Yorkers can celebrate the holiday by scoring freebies from national chains, attending events and by visiting our favorite ice cream shops in the city for a bite (or two or five) of creamy, icy goodness. Plan your trip around one of our fave playgrounds so you can let the kids run off some of their ice-cream-fueled steam.

When is National Ice Cream Day?

National Ice Cream Day is typically on the third Sunday of July. This year National Ice Cream Day is on Sunday, July 21, 2013.