National ICEE Day Means Free Frozen Drinks on Tuesday, Aug. 18

USA TODAY Network / Reuters

Here’s a cool deal for Tuesday, Aug. 18: You can get a free small ICEE at more than 1,800 locations nationwide for the first National ICEE Day.

Free drinks will be available at participating Walmart Fuel and convenience locations and Krystal restaurants, with no purchase necessary. You can also get a free ICEE when you buy a ticket for a movie at AMC Theatres or Regal Cinemas, or pay admission to an Urban Air Adventure Park location.

ICEE says customers who get a free drink can enter for a chance to win prizes, including an at-home ICEE machine. To enter, share an Instagram or Facebook story that day with your free drink, use #NID2026 and tag @TheICEECompany. The grand-prize winner is scheduled to be announced Aug. 19 on ICEE’s social media channels.

ICEE and Slurpee Share a History

You may remember 7-Eleven’s National Slurpee Day from July 11. ICEE and Slurpee have some shared history.

Omar Knedlik, who founded what became the ICEE Company, initially sold bottles of Coke partly frozen at his Dairy Queen franchise in Coffeyville, Kansas, according to Kansas Public Radio.

In 1962, he patented an ICEE machine built with the help of the John E. Mitchell manufacturing firm, according to Smithsonian magazine.

7-Eleven bought machines, licensed the frozen drink and began calling its version of the drink “Slurpee” in 1965.

Reporting by Mike Snider, USA TODAY. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY and is distributed through Reuters Connect.

 

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