Take the plunge and chill out with Innisfil Community Events (ICE) on Saturday.
The 27th annual polar bear dip will take place Feb. 22 at Innisfil Beach Park (676 Innisfil Beach Rd.). Registration opens at 11 a.m. The costume contest is at 12:30 p.m., and participants are invited to brave the icy waters at 1:30.
The first 50 registrants who submit their completed forms and pay their $25 participation fee will receive a free T-shirt; pre-registration is encouraged at icecorp.com. Members of ICE hope to surpass last year’s record of 98 participants.
Proceeds will be donated to the Innisfil Food Bank.
“(ICE) has been in our corner repeatedly with their polar bear dip and we are very grateful,” food bank coordinator Donna Sawyer said. “In the past, February has typically been a very quiet month in terms of donations, so we are extremely thankful for the extra support. We are generally through our holiday season food donations, so this is a great way for us to be able to purchase what we need.”
An experienced dipper, ICE president Chris Reynolds Jr. will be jumping for the 10th time this year.
“We would love for people to come support all the brave jumpers who are jumping for fun, or in their goal to raise money for the (food bank),” he said. “Building on the success of the 2024 polar bear dip, we have a fundraising goal of $10,000 for the (food bank) surpassing the total of $8,000 in 2024. The food bank supports so many families within the community and the demand keeps growing."
For competitive participants, the individual fundraising record to beat is $1,500.
Prizes will be announced at a later date. Reynolds Jr. noted that he and his fellow ICE members enjoy seeing the costumes, and the crowd cheering on the dippers.
Participants are encouraged to be creative with their costumes, but note this is a family-friendly event.
The Foodiez Barrie food truck will be onsite, and Domino's Pizza in Alcona will be providing free pizza for jumpers. Complimentary hot chocolate and coffee will also be offered to those taking the plunge.
Armstrong Trailers, Horodynsky Farms, Cooper Equipment Rentals and Spring Tree Farm Corporation — who will be cutting a hole in the ice — are sponsoring this year’s event.
Learn more about the dip — and access the registration and pledge package — here.