Rich Shore, manager of Rita's Water Ice, 119 E. Beaver Ave., distributed vitamins and medicine to kids in Nicaragua this winter while on a mission trip helping set up medical clinics.

"I saw infants that wouldn't get any type of medical care," he said. "I thought, 'I'm off, I may as well do something helpful as well.' "

Now he's back in State College for the spring supplying icy treats to cool students' senses.

Rita's Water Ice will open for the season on Friday, and will feature some new items on the menu.

Changes will include six new flavors and three new sugar-free flavors -- mango-peach, pineapple and chocolate.

"They're all coming out throughout the year, so it gives everybody something to look forward to," Shore said. "We're all about having fun here."

Rita's is the one thing that tells Jenny Drenkard warmer weather is on its way.

"When it opens it's kind of a reminder that spring's coming, so that's good," Drenkard (junior-biobehavioral health) said.

This location is usually one of the first to open.

Most others don't open until later in March, Shore said.

"Last year we opened on Valentine's Day. It was just so cold the rest of the month that it wasn't worth opening so early," Shore said.

"People aren't going to get as much ice when it's cold out, but some people come no matter what the weather," he said.

Drenkard is one of those people -- cold weather doesn't stop her from enjoying an icy treat.

"I don't like that it closes in the winter," she said. "I like to stop there after going out to dinner downtown."

The store sees its biggest crowds in the evening because "students are more night owls," Shore said.

He also spent his winter searching for a second Rita's location in State College, Shore said.

Another Rita's will open on North Atherton Street "hopefully early summer," he said.

"It depends on zoning changes and how much remodeling needs done," he said.

The new location will cater to people who don't live downtown, as well as to people who come in with big groups, Shore said, referencing local baseball and Little League teams.

"It should be a better opportunity for them," he said.

Shore also attended an annual Rita's meeting in January and sampled some of the new flavors.

"Chocolate sugar-free is pretty good. S'mores is real good," he said.

Shore said he still eats water ice every day and uses it for tailgates in the fall.

In addition, every Rita's Water Ice location will give free water ice on the first day of spring, March 20.

Rita's spring hours are from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.