National Ice Cream Day is Sunday. Here are 6 places offering specials, deals

National Ice Cream Day is Sunday and if you're seeking a sweet treat, look no further than some of Springfield's locally-owned ice cream shops.

Former President Ronald Reagan deemed July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day in 1984, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

"Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over 90% of the people in the United States," Reagan said in his proclamation. "It enjoys a reputation as the perfect dessert and snack food."

Though ice cream may not be considered "nutritious" today, it's no secret that Americans enjoy a frozen sweet treat. In 2023, the country's ice cream industry had a $11.4 billion impact on the economy, directly supporting more than 27,000 jobs, according to the IDFA. This kept ice cream makers busy, with more than 1.3 billion gallons of ice cream produced in 2023.

Earlier this year, the IDFA partnered with Morning Consult to survey Americans about their favorite flavors of ice cream. Per the survey, the top 10 ice cream flavors are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, cookie dough, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip, rocky road and peanut butter cup.

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Sweet EMOtion

Located downtown, Sweet EMOtion offers an array of vegan-friendly options. Each week, the ice cream shop offers several new flavors and specials. This week's lineup includes Butterbrew (butterscotch, The Coffee Ethic espresso, vanilla oat milk ice cream), Pomegranate (pomegranate-flavored vanilla oat milk ice cream), Bad Habit float (pomegranate and vanilla oat milk float with real blueberries, agave vanilla cream soda and whipped cream) and Butter Hell (vanilla oat milk ice cream with cookie butter, cheesecake, Biscoff cookie pieces and ice cream cone pieces).

Sweet EMOtion's Sad Scream Saturday special is a PB Explosion ice cream bar, which features Reese's Peanut Butter Cup oat milk ice cream, handmade ice cream bars made from smashed Nutter Butter pieces and Reese's Peanut Butter sauce.

Sweet EMOtion is located at 211 E. Walnut St. and open 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 2-10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Box Turtle Creamery

Box Turtle Creamery offers a rotating selection of unique flavors, made in-house. The News-Leader was unable to connect with the ice cream shop ahead of press deadline, but Box Turtle's menu is posted daily on Instagram at @boxturtle_creamery.

Box Turtle Creamery is located at 1458 E. Cherry St., open 4-10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Dairy Queen

DQ Rewards members may receive a free Dilly Bar with any purchase over $1. Dilly Bars are made with vanilla soft serve, encased in chocolate coating, served on a popsicle stick.

Springfield Dairy Queens are located at 2300 W. College St., 3665 E. Sunshine St. and 4150 S. Campbell Ave. Each of these locations are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday.

Braum's

Braum's is offering $1.30 single dip cones and $1.89 double dip cones on Sunday.

Springfield Braum's are located at 604 N. Glenstone Ave., 1401 W. Sunshine St., 2555 N. Kansas Expressway, 3020 E. Sunshine St., 4125 S. National Ave. and 2617 W. Republic Road. Each of these locations are open 6 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. everyday.

Baskin Robbins

Baskin Robbins is offering $5 off purchases of $20 or more through July 22, when placing an order on DoorDash, UberEats or Postmates. Customers should use the promo code, "SEIZETHEYAY" to receive the deal. On July 31, Baskin Robbins is offering 31% off all scoops in stores to Baskin Robbins app users.

Special for National Ice Cream Month, Baskin Robbins has released two new sweet treats, an Oreo Mega STUF Cone and Cappuccino Blast. The Oreo Mega STUF Cone features an Oreo waffle cone with two scoops of Baskin Robbins' classic Oreo Cookies 'n Crème ice cream, Oreo crème filling, whipped cream and Oreo cookies pieces. The Oreo Mega STUF Cappuccino Blast is a take on the ice cream shop's Cappuccino Blast, made with Oreo crème.

Springfield's Baskin Robbins is located at 1614 S. Glenstone Ave. and open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday.

Insomnia Cookies

Insomnia Cookies is offering a free cup of two scoops of ice cream with all purchases Friday through Sunday. The promotion is valid for in-store and online purchases.

As of Tuesday, the Insomnia Cookies in Springfield offered Key Lime Coconut Pie, Caramellionaire, Chocolate, Cookies 'N Dream, Cookie D'ough, Peanut Butter Insomniac Tracks, Minterstellar and Vanilla ice cream flavors.

Springfield's Insomnia Cookies is located at 401 S. Kimbrough Ave. and open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her atgcross@news-leader.com.