Rita’s cancels popular first day of Free Ice Day

Rita’s Italian Ice chain has canceled its popular free water ice event on the first day of spring due to COVID-19 concerns.

“We’ve chosen to cancel our Free Ice Day on 3/20/2021 to keep everyone safe,” the company said on its website and social media accounts. “While we can’t celebrate together, we plan on celebrating those who have been keeping us safe throughout the year. Don’t worry, we’re still open for business, and we look forward to seeing you soon.”

For many years, customers have descended on the first day of spring at Rita’s locations across the region. Lines have formed rain or shine, snow or ice.

The chain has dozens of locations in the Lehigh Valley area. One of the more popular locations is at 1052 W. Emmaus Ave. in Allentown, where customers memorably flocked in a snowstorm on March 20, 2015.

Rita’s locations will still be open for business even though the Free Ice Day event is canceled.

The state Department of Health reported 2,975 additional coronavirus cases on Tuesday, and the seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 2,472, down 4% from 2,569 a week ago.

People across the state continue to get vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is allocating 289,460 first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to providers throughout the state this week. There is no allocation of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

About 3.47 million vaccinations have been administered to 2.36 million people in Pennsylvania as of Tuesday, including Philadelphia, amounting to 22.6% of the 16-and-over population that is approved to be vaccinated.

The numbers for the Lehigh Valley are: 214,000 vaccinations administered to 137,750 people, amounting to 25.1% of the eligible population. There are more than 76,000 Valley residents who are now fully vaccinated, and 61,000 waiting for their second shot.