Spring is here – even if this week in Bethesda Maryland seems a bit chilly! May means flowers and bees swarming around those flowers. The spring blossoms are doing fine – but bees are having a hard time of it in the last few years.
For much of the past 10 years, beekeepers in the United States and Europe have been reporting annual hive losses of 30 percent or higher, substantially more than is considered normal or sustainable. It is not clear whether the loss of bees is due to global warming, excessive use of pesticides or some other cause, but the impact is clear on agriculture.
What to do? Just a hint – the answer is not Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake!” 
This time the answer is borrowed from Shakespeare- “Get thee to an ice cream store!” Specifically, be sure to go to your nearest Haagen Dazs on May 9 to support the bees!
Each year Haagen Dazs has a Free Cone Day and donates the proceeds of any donations to one worthy cause.
The promotion this year is being dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of honey bees. Bees help pollinate over one-third of the world’s crops, and help in the creation of one-third of the company’s most beloved flavors like strawberry, rocky road, mango, and vanilla, says the company.
And what goes better with a sunny spring day in Bethesda than ice cream? How about free ice cream?Haagen Dazs restaurants are celebrating Free Cone Day on Tuesday, May 9. From 4 to 8 p.m., each customer who comes into a Haagen Dazs location can get a free kiddie scoop of any flavor they like in a cup, sugar cone, or cake cone. Hopefully, anyone who enjoys that free kiddie scoop will make a contribution to Haagen Dazs’ fund raising efforts!
All other menu items are regular price. The Free Cone Day offer may not be combined with any other offer or used as a discount on other items. And guests who want to purchase items will be allowed to bypass the line of people waiting for free scoops.
Here are the participating Haagen Dazs stores in and around Bethesda where you can get free ice cream on Tuesday:
- 7237 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda
- Westfield Montgomery, 7101 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda
- Georgetown, 3120 M. Street N.W.,Washington, DC