The Wayne Dairy Queen located in the Preakness shopping center gave away over 2,000 free ice cream cones on March 20th to celebrate the start of the spring season.

All day, people could come into the store and have one small soft-serve cone for free or with extra toppings for fifty cents. This year’s free cone day marked one year since the store’s opening.

“Being a DQ employee for a year now has taught me a lot about communication, patience, and confidence. I am able to work well with my co-workers as well as the customers to ensure a happy and positive environment,” said junior Laiann Hamdan, DQ veteran. “I actually worked on last year’s free cone day, which was very nerve-racking considering it was the first day we opened and I was still a trainee. As my experience and work ethic strengthened, it showed a lot on yesterday’s free cone day.”

Junior Lia Cardinale has also been a DQ employee since the store’s opening last year and said that “the store has gotten better because we’ve gotten into more of a rhythm working together.”

The store was packed with excited customers for the majority of free cone day, and the line of people often extended out the door. To the disappointment of many, however, the store sold out and had to stop serving at around 9:00 pm.

“Although the line was going out the door and only grew, we had everything under control and dealt with everyone calmly and collectively. Cone day was a success and although very hectic, very fun as well,” Hamdan added.

The event raised money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals: after receiving their free cone, customers could make a small donation to the charity. In total, the owners and staff of the store said they raised over $250.

The Preakness Dairy Queen is open year-round. Store hours are 11 am to 10 pm on Sundays through Thursdays and 11 am to 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.