By Donald Wittkowski
In 1994, 25 brave souls ventured out on a Sea Isle City beach in February and took a chilly dip in the ocean in front of a small crowd of amused spectators. Little did they know it then, but they had made a huge splash for Sea Isle’s tourism.
What began as a publicity stunt to try to boost tourism in the desolate winter months has become – all these years later – a major event drawing thousands of visitors to town for the Polar Bear Plunge Weekend festivities.
“We have blown it up from there, obviously,” James Bennett, chairman of the Sea Isle Tourism Commission, observed of the plunge’s dramatic growth from its modest beginnings.
Sea Isle is preparing to celebrate the plunge’s milestone 25th anniversary with plenty of fanfare and hoopla, Bennett told his fellow Tourism Commission members during their board meeting Thursday.
Polar Bear Plunge Weekend will unfold on Feb. 15-17 with a full schedule of entertainment and events. It will culminate Sunday, Feb 17, with the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism, an annual fundraiser that promotes autism awareness.
Sea Isle’s legendary former public relations maven, Irene Jameson, who died in 2015 at the age of 90, conceived of the idea for the plunge and was dubbed the Polar Bear Queen. She also started the tradition of taking the dip dressed in costumes. Among her colorful garb, Jameson portrayed a 1920s-era flapper girl and a beauty queen while doing the plunge.
“Jumping into the ocean with Irene Jameson 25 years ago could be one of the greatest memories I ever had,” Bennett recalled, smiling.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, Jameson will be honored during the plunge’s costume contest on Saturday, Feb. 16, at LaCosta Lounge, the bar and nightclub owned by Bennett. The always wacky costume contest precedes the plunge.
The plunge serves as the centerpiece for a weekend of partying, dining and shopping over the Presidents Day holiday weekend. For a schedule of events, visit Sea Isle’s tourism website at https://www.visitsicnj.com/featured-event.
Bennett wasn’t sure of just how many people come to town for the weekend celebration, but noted it is in the thousands. The buildup to the 25th anniversary celebration suggests there will be even bigger crowds this year, he pointed out.
“We’re way ahead of last year,” he said. “It’s going to be a good year.”
Sea Isle benefited from relatively mild winter weather during the plunges in 2017 and 2018, a dramatic contrast to the bitter cold during the 2016 event.
“We’ve seen it pretty cold, but then again, we’ve seen it pretty balmy,” Bennett said.
Even during the mild weather for the 2017 and 2018 plunges, the water temperature was in the 40s in 2017 and the 30s last year – conditions only polar bears could love.
