Coney Island Polar Bear Club | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island Polar Bear Club’

Video of the Day: The Coldest Thing on Coney Island

Posted in film, video, tagged Coney Island Polar Bear Club, Jim Muscarella, New Year's Day, Polar Bear Plunge, winter swimming on February 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

This short film produced by Coney Island Polar Bear Club member Jim Muscarella celebrates the joyous spirit of the club’s annual New Year’s Day swim. This year, sunny skies and temps in the 50s drew the largest number of participants in the club’s history. But the coldest thing on Coney Island, according to Muscarella’s film, is going for a winter swim when air temps are 10 degrees and under and water temps are under 35 degrees. Brrr! Well, maybe next year–it’s February and temps are still in the 40s and 50s.

Founded in 1903, the Polar Bear Club is also the oldest thing on Coney Island says Chief Polar Bear Dennis Thomas in the film: “We’re happy to be a Coney Island landmark. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter swimming club in the country. We’re older than the Parachute Drop and the Cyclone and anything else you see here.”

Record 3,000 “Do It” at Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge

Posted in Events, News, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged Camp Sunshine, Coney Island, Coney Island Polar Bear Club, Freezin for a Reason, Lola Star, New Year's Day, Polar Bear Club, Polar Bear Plunge, winter swimming on January 3, 2012| 4 Comments »

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

On New Year’s Day 2012 in Coney Island, a record number of people, nearly three times as many as last year, did the Polar Bear Plunge. Dennis Thomas, president of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club told ATZ that the number of “I Did It” certificates given out to registered swimmers soared. “We went through almost 3,000,” said Thomas, who noted that the unofficial number of plungers is always higher because “some register, others don’t.” On New Year’s Day 2011, the official tally of registered swimmers was about 1,200 and the Bears gave out 1,000 certificates before they ran out.

Sunny skies and temps in the 50s also drew the largest crowd of spectators in the club’s history. “I think the weather made it better and more enjoyable,” Thomas said of the event, which is an annual fundraiser for Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life threatening diseases. According to the chart at Freezin for a Reason, more than $37,000 has been received in donations. Thomas said pledges are still coming in and the Coney Island Polar Bears expect to meet their goal of raising $50,000. (If you missed the event, it’s not too late to mail a check.)

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

“We had a DJ on Stillwell to provide entertainment and there were hundreds of people dancing,” Thomas said. Some of the costumed plungers were familiar from previous years’ swims or reminiscent of the Mermaid Parade. There was the Metrocard Man, Big Babies in Diapers, a group of jailbirds, a pirate couple in their pirate ship, and a gaggle of superheroes, as well as penguins, ducks, and of course polar bears! Some carried hand-made signs that read Occupy Peace, Occupy the Ocean, Free Polar Hugs and Polar Bears from Bronx.

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

The only stores open on the Boardwalk were Ruby’s, which was jam-packed with New Year’s Day revelers celebrating the beloved bar’s new eight-year lease, and the Lola Star Boutique next door. Shop owner and designer Dianna Carlin said it was the “Best New Year’s Day party ever!” It was the first time her shop was open on New Year’s and when she arrived bright and early at 10:30am, much to her surprise the Boardwalk was already packed. Lola Star Boutique offered the first Coney Collectible of 2012– a limited edition magnet–for free to Polar Bear Plungers as well as to customers who spent $20 at the shop. Nearly all 150 of the magnets were given out. “You can’t buy it. You can only earn it. I’m going to make it an annual souvenir, only available on New Year’s Day.”

On the Boardwalk in front of Ruby's Bar and Lola Star Boutique, January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Coney Island resident and photographer Bruce Handy, whose photos are featured in this post, echoes others when he said, “I have never seen a huge, gigantic crowd as on Sunday.” He estimated there were about 5,000 people on the beach and boardwalk, 2,000 polar bears plunging. “The plunge frontage was from Stillwell Avenue almost to Steeplechase Pier, way longer than usual. The warm weather brought many people out, who in past years had thought about plunging into the frigid sea.”

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

What are the reasons for the event’s growing popularity? Thomas told us in “By the Numbers: Coney Island New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim 2010” (ATZ, Jan. 8, 2010)…

Part of it is just word of mouth. People went last year, told their friends who said, yeah I want to do that next year. Part of it is that Coney Island has been in the press so much lately that it is going through its own revival regardless of the development plans. Crowds out there are getting bigger for all events the past 2 years.

Part of it is our club seems to have a larger media presence than in the past and things like our website make us much easier to find than say, 10 years ago. And somehow we are less portrayed as those idiots on the beach that cause network newscasters to chuckle and shake their heads after a 10 second clip before the weather report. The New Year’s Swim is basically free and open to the public, that might be a draw in the current economy as well. I think it’s all these things that explains the larger crowds.

After this year’s record attendance, Thomas says “It’s getting so big, we’re pushed to the limits.” He and his team begin working on the event in November, when their winter swimming season starts. “We really need to enlist more help. The logistics are getting to be enormous and it imposes a lot more costs on us.” In past years, sponsorships from Planet Green and Vaseline Skin Care helped out.

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge. January 1, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Traveler: Lake George’s 50th Winter Carnival

Posted in Travel, tagged Coney Island Polar Bear Club, Josh Beeles, Lake George, Photography, Polar Plunge, Winter Carnival on February 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This month the Lake George Winter Carnival is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a round of Polar Plunges, Ice Diving Demos, Motorcycle Ice Races, Dog Sled Races, Polar Golf and more. On opening weekend, photographer Josh Beeles got some wonderful shots of the Outhouse Races and Polar Plunge. The event first caught our eye because of a Coney Island connection. According to the carnival’s website, the Lake George Winter Carnival’s Polar Plunge was started more than 35 years ago by Coney Island Polar Club President Al Mottola…

History of the Polar Plunge – The Lake George Winter Carnival Polar Plunge has evolved over the years. The Coney Island Polar Bears started this tradition in 1903. Al Mottola, president of the Coney Island Polar Bears, first appeared at the Lake George Winter Carnival in 1973, taking their first plunge into the icy waters of Lake George. Spectators and participants were entertained for years by the group and many visitors and locals joined in on the fun of swimming in the ice cold water. They entertained many fans for years at the Lake George Winter Carnival, including Charlie “Papa Bear” Albert, who founded the Lake George Polar Bear Club and the 1st Day Polar Plunge that draws 800 plus people January 1st every year. The Polar swim is sponsored by the Lake George Winter Carnival every January 1st, and Saturday and Sundays during the month of February we invite anyone to participate, if you dare. Over 1000 participants for 2010.

This weekend’s featured event at the winter carnival is the NY State AMA Sanctioned Motorcycle & ATV Ice Race Championship. You can watch a live webcast courtesy of the Electric City Motorcycle Riders Club.

The Polar Plunge as well as Snowmobile Water Skips, Dog Sled Rides and Skydiving are set for every weekend in February.Click here for a schedule of events.