FREE Ice Cream at Cold Stone

Double D Alert: When ice cream and charity come into play, I like to get involved. And when the ice cream is FREE, then I really like to participate. Cold Stone Creamery will host its 9th annual "World's Largest Ice Cream Social" from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30.

The FREE ice cream only applies to a Like It size (aka, small) called Kate's Creation: caramel apple ice cream mixed with chocolate shavings, graham cracker pie crust and apple pie filling. The creation was invented by a girl named Kate, a participant in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Although the ice cream is free, bring some cash to donate to Make-A-Wish.

For more information, click here.

FREE Museum Day

Smithsonian magazine is offering FREE museum passes for visits on Saturday, Sept. 25. Passes are good for only one museum and two people per household.

Passes are available for more than 1,000 museums nationwide, including the California Academy of Sciences (adult admission regularly $29.95) and Walt Disney Family Museum (adult admission regularly $20) in San Francisco.

Click here for a list of participating museums and to register for tickets. Passes will be e-mailed after registering online.

FREE Dessert Day

Double D Alert: What's the best way to promote a dessert TV show? Offer FREE desserts, of course! In honor of the season premiere of "Top Chef: Just Desserts" on the Bravo network, OpenTable.com will offer users a FREE dessert on Wednesday, Sept. 15, to coincide with the show's premiere.

To take advantage of the promotion:

• Click here to view the list of participating restaurants.
  
• Make a Sept. 15 reservation for at least 2 people for lunch or dinner (not all restaurants offer lunch for this deal) through the page with the list of restaurants. You'll get a free dessert for every 2 guests in your party.
  
• Each diner must order a meal. Sorry, no splitting a meal just because you're going to order a calorie-laden dessert!

Here's my tip for men: Find a restaurant on the list, then tell the special lady in your life that you heard about this great restaurant and you want to take her there on Wednesday. Tell her you'll make a reservation, which will sound impressive. When you get to the restaurant and she goes to order a salad tell her that she looks so thin that she should really go with a regular meal. Then as your girl rejects dessert because she's being modest -- you know she really wants it -- tell her that you've already made arrangements for dessert, then have the server come out with the most-expensive dessert on the menu!

Chocolate Festival and a Discount

One of my favorite events is set for this weekend: The 15th annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival will take place from 12-5 p.m. Sept. 11 and 12. Tickets include 15 tastings from dozens of vendors. Last year, attendees also were able receive freebies such as wine openers from Cost Plus World Market.

My fellow chocolate aficionado and I like to bring a big purse or extra bag to the festival and collect chocolates to bring home on the chance that we get full by the end of the day.

Some of my favorite items from last year were the chocolate martini tastings (I had 2), Ghirardelli hot fudge sundaes and chocolate tea. Some non-chocolate items were available; only a cup of mango ice cream was able to lure me away from all the chocolate.

Cooking demonstrations, tea pairings (extra charge) and, my favorite, ice cream eating contests are scheduled for this year's festival.

Double D Alert: Tickets cost $20, but today I was able to book my ticket using the goodytwos discount code for 10% OFF ($2 discount).

Tips for receiving deeper discounts for next year's tickets:

• Join LivingSocial.com's mailing list. It's like Groupon where users receive daily deals on gift certificates for area services, restaurants, etc. A few days ago, it had a deal for 50% OFF tickets.
  
• Follow Ghirardelli Square on Twitter (user name: GhirardelliSQ). For a few days last month, it offered $5 discounts to mark the one-month countdown to the festival.

For more information about the festival, including a list of vendors, click here.