Kara Benedict strolled up to the Kona Ice truck Monday afternoon with surprising perkiness for someone who got up at 4:30 a.m. to work at Starbucks.
“After-work bonus,” Benedict said to no one in particular as she scanned the list of shave ice flavors before settling on a watermelon-sour cherry combination.
Steve and Kelli McCulloch parked their Kona Ice truck Monday on West 13th Street, across from the downtown Vancouver post office. For two hours, the Ridgefield couple dispensed 150 to 200 free shave ice treats as part of Kona Ice’s “Chill Out Day” for April 15, when federal income tax returns are due.
“It’s a stressful day,” Steve McCulloch said. “So we are helping them chill out a bit.”
Benedict, who lives in the 13 West Apartments next to where the McCullochs parked their truck, said her “fabulous” mother-in-law already filed her tax return. So she wasn’t too stressed about tax day — or if the Kona Ice truck was running out of sour-cherry flavoring.
“I’m not picky,” she said. “I’m getting this for free. I’m happy either way.”
Elizabeth Blankenship said she drove 10 minutes to pick up a frozen dessert commonly associated with the Hawaiian islands.
“I needed this,” she said. “I had to pay this year, six grand.”
The IRS expects about 90 percent of federal income tax returns to be filed electronically, which made it unlikely that a horde of final-day filers would descend on the post office.
Steve McCulloch said a few filers stopped by after delivering their tax returns to the post office.
“We’re trying to put a smile on their faces,” he said.
Most of the people who took advantage of the Chill Out Day either lived or worked in the area or spotted one of the McCullochs waving a sign promising free frozen delights.
Kona Ice doesn’t require its franchises to participate in the nationwide promotion, Steve McCulloch said.
“They suggest it,” he said. “They don’t mandate anything like that, where they force you to give away product.”
The couple handed out shave ice desserts that usually retail for $4 for a Klassic, $5 for a King and $6 for a Kowabunga. They weren’t set up to accept payment, even if someone offered.
“I didn’t bring my cash box,” Steve McCulloch said. “I didn’t bring my card reader.”
The temperature was in the low 50s Monday afternoon. The Kona Ice truck’s vibrant colors, flashing lights and Caribbean music made the promotion seem a bit brighter, despite the overcast skies.
“I guess it’s never too cold for a Kona,” Kelli McCulloch said. “I like to say we bring Hawaii to you.”
Steve McCulloch even turned on the “scentinator,” which causes the truck to emit a faint odor reminiscent of sun tan lotion.
“If you walk up to the truck and start smelling it, it just puts you in the mood,” he said.
Kelli McCulloch said she still enjoys having a Kona shave ice, especially the strawberry-coconut flavor known as “Tiger’s Blood.”
“Sometimes I will sneak out to the truck in the evening, if we still have ice, and make one for myself,” she said.
