You can’t miss Murrel Warner.
If the outlandish garb doesn’t grab your attention, the affable laugh will tickle your ears.
Warner is one of the organizers of Saturday’s Polar Plunge for Special Olympics. The event is part of the annual Winter River Festival in Louisiana, which bills itself as the place “Where it’s cool to be cold.”
The plunge, which takes place at 4 p.m. at the boat ramp in Riverfront Park, preceded the festival itself.
Warner has been there almost since the beginning, and each year the costume she designs seems to get a little more loony.
“I’m just a fun-loving, crazy person,” Warner said. “I wear that badge proudly.”
One year, Warner dressed as a 1920s flapper.
Another time, she was a “flamingo taking a bubble bath.” The getup came complete with pink balloons that encircled her waist.
For Warner, headdress is an essential part of the ensemble.
I’d recommend a hat,” she said. “You don’t have to, but I’d recommend it.”
Oh, no
There has been a fashion faux pas or two along the way.
The infamous chicken episode is still fresh in Warner’s mind.
“I started losing my feathers,” she recalled with a chuckle. “There were feathers all over the riverfront. I told everyone I was molting. “
And then there was the frightful fish outfit.
“I had no idea it would make you look so ugly,” Warner lamented. “I didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
Warner swears she doesn’t decide what she’s wearing until a few hours before the plunge, but regular spectators can usually count on seashells, toilet paper, scarves, household utensils and other knick-knacks being attached to the attire.
“I never do it by myself,” Warner said. “I always have to have someone help me.”
Reputation often precedes Warner. She’s been stopped in the grocery and asked about her duds.
“They say ‘Oooh, what are you going to be this year?’” Warner said. “I say, ‘Well, you’ll just have to come down and see.’”
Warner hates to think what would happen if she didn’t appear at the plunge in some kind of wardrobe.
“They wouldn’t know who I was, but I’d rather not discuss that,” she said, quickly breaking into that genial guffaw.
Feeling deprived
One of the first organizers of the plunge, Helen Crew, has watched Warner bedrape herself over the years and has followed…uh…suit.
The women consulted before cloaking themselves last year. So, what kind of swaddles will they have on Saturday?
“We’re not revealing because we don’t know,” Crew said, with a laugh that equaled Warner’s. “We wait until the last minute.”
Warner and Crew used to take the dip, but no longer do.
“I miss it,” Warner said. “I feel like I’ve been deprived. Everyone was wet and miserable and having so much fun. It doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
The plunge is open to people ages 14 and older. The $50 entry fee goes to Special Olympics.
Last year, more than 50 people ran into and out of the frigid water as fast as they could.
“Everyone thinks you’re crazy for doing it,” Warner said. “It’s not a normal activity. There aren’t that many people who will go into the frozen Mississippi River for fun.”
Warner hopes this week’s colder weather produces lots of ice for the plunge.
“It’s more exciting if you have ice,” she said. “It’s just the idea that you have all that ice and you’re getting in there with it.”
Of course, Warner and Crew aren’t the only ones running around in raiments. Plungers are encouraged to get on their own guises for the costume contest, with an entry fee of $10. Prizes will be awarded.
There is a warning tent for participants. A Louisiana firefighter is positioned in the water to make sure no one goes under, and medical personnel are standing by in case there’s a problem.
