DEER LAKE - This year's Polar Plunge at Deer Lake might be chilly for participants, but they can take the chill off with chili afterward.
The event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 25, with the plunge occurring at noon and also featuring a chili cookoff, bake sale and Chinese auction. It all benefits the local Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"We probably have at least 150 jumpers," said Denna Krammes, 33, the team captain for Russo's Pizza Make-A-Wish softball team. Last year there were about 60 people who braved the waters for the cause.
The water temperature was 34 degrees last year, Krammes said, and about 900 showed up at the lake to witness the plunge. The event raised $5,000, she said.
This year's participants are asked to raise $50 each. In doing so, each participant will receive a 2012 Polar Plunge T-shirt, and those who bring in $150 receive a beach towel and a T-shirt, she said.
Those interested in taking a plunge for Make-A-Wish should be ages 16 and older. A liability waiver must be signed. The signing can be done at the lake the day of the event or prior to it by calling Krammes at 570-366-1110.
Registration for the event starts at 11 a.m. Attire for the dip is up to the individual; however, participants should remember this is an event to benefit children and should wear appropriate clothing.
"We did have people in bikinis last year," Krammes said.
Orwigsburg and Auburn ambulances will be on hand in the event of emergency, as will members of the Schuylkill Haven Dive Rescue and Recovery Team, Krammes said.
The Deer Lake/West Brunswick Township Fire Department is donating the use of its hall for the event, where the chili cookoff, event registration, bake sale and Chinese auction will be held.
The chili cookoff, new to this year's festivities, will cost $3 per vote. Voters can sample the contest entries and vote for their favorite.
So far, six types of chili are entered, Krammes said, with ingredients left up to the cook. Anyone interested in entering the cookoff can contact Krammes.
The chili cookoff winner will receive a $50 gift certificate for Redner's Warehouse Markets, a plunge T-shirt and a $10 gift certificate for Russo's pizza.
More than 12,000 wishes have been fulfilled by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and the Southern West Virginia chapter since its founding 28 years ago, according to www.wishgreaterpa.org. The chapter covers 80 counties in the two states and is headquartered in Pittsburgh. If you go
What: Polar Plunge at Deer Lake
When: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 25; registration starts at 11 a.m., plunge at noon
Where: Deer Lake and Deer Lake/West Brunswick Township Fire hall
Information: Call Denna Krammes at 570-366-1110