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There are a lot of people who won’t dip a toe in the Mississippi River, regardless of how warm the water might be. But Andy Dorian, recreation supervisor for the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department, is hopeful a number of people will warm to the idea of actually jumping in the river in late March.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about since I started,” said Dorian, in regard to hosting a Mississippi River plunge on the Hannibal riverfront. “Quincy has done one, Louisiana, Mo., has done one. They’re pretty successful pretty much all over the country. I just thought it would be a fun idea and something different.”
The inaugural Freezin’ for a Reason Mississippi River Polar Plunge is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, at the boat ramp in the Hannibal Marina.
While Dorian would love to see 50 people take the plunge, he would offer no predictions on how many folks will actually participate.
“I honestly have no clue,” he said. “We could have a ton of people or we could just have a few. It’s something we expect might be a little slow at the beginning just because jumping into the cold Mississippi River is not something everyone wants to do. We hope we build on it and it grows so that in a few years it will be quite a big event in downtown Hannibal.”
Dorian will be heavily marketing the event to attract people of all ages.
“We’re going to hit it pretty good during the Wing Ding and Chili Cookoff to try and get some of the younger crowd. We’re also going to do some stuff with the high school and hopefully get a bunch of those kids. I would expect hopefully a lot of older people, too,” he said.
The minimum cost to participate will be $50. All proceeds will go to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
“We would encourage people to raise as much money as they possibly can. Hopefully this will be a good fund-raiser for the RSVP for years to come,” said Dorian, adding that a prize will be awarded the person raising the most money.
A prize will also be presented the person showing up in the wackiest costume.
“I’ve seen pictures of (plungers) in Quincy and other places. They definitely dress up in crazy costumes,” said Dorian.
Precautions will be taken to ensure the event is safe, starting with having it in the marina.
“It’s a safe environment. You don’t have to worry about current,” said Dorian. “We are going to have paramedics and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a diver there as well. We don’t foresee any problems, but you always want to be on the safe side.”
Some will contend that holding the event two days before the start of spring does not qualify as a “polar plunge.” Dorian is not buying it.
“I think it (water) is going to be quite cold,” he said, adding that in the future the plunge might be moved earlier in the year. “That was our dilemma, whether we wanted to do it right now (January) or wait a little bit. For this first one we don’t want to petrify people too much. If we can continue to grow we’ll probably start pushing it back into January or February.”
For more information contact Dorian at (573) 221-1503 or e-mail him at hpr_supervisor@yahoo.com .
There are a lot of people who won’t dip a toe in the Mississippi River, regardless of how warm the water might be. But Andy Dorian, recreation supervisor for the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department, is hopeful a number of people will warm to the idea of actually jumping in the river in late March.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about since I started,” said Dorian, in regard to hosting a Mississippi River plunge on the Hannibal riverfront. “Quincy has done one, Louisiana, Mo., has done one. They’re pretty successful pretty much all over the country. I just thought it would be a fun idea and something different.”
The inaugural Freezin’ for a Reason Mississippi River Polar Plunge is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, at the boat ramp in the Hannibal Marina.
While Dorian would love to see 50 people take the plunge, he would offer no predictions on how many folks will actually participate.
“I honestly have no clue,” he said. “We could have a ton of people or we could just have a few. It’s something we expect might be a little slow at the beginning just because jumping into the cold Mississippi River is not something everyone wants to do. We hope we build on it and it grows so that in a few years it will be quite a big event in downtown Hannibal.”
Dorian will be heavily marketing the event to attract people of all ages.
“We’re going to hit it pretty good during the Wing Ding and Chili Cookoff to try and get some of the younger crowd. We’re also going to do some stuff with the high school and hopefully get a bunch of those kids. I would expect hopefully a lot of older people, too,” he said.
The minimum cost to participate will be $50. All proceeds will go to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
“We would encourage people to raise as much money as they possibly can. Hopefully this will be a good fund-raiser for the RSVP for years to come,” said Dorian, adding that a prize will be awarded the person raising the most money.
A prize will also be presented the person showing up in the wackiest costume.
“I’ve seen pictures of (plungers) in Quincy and other places. They definitely dress up in crazy costumes,” said Dorian.
Precautions will be taken to ensure the event is safe, starting with having it in the marina.
“It’s a safe environment. You don’t have to worry about current,” said Dorian. “We are going to have paramedics and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a diver there as well. We don’t foresee any problems, but you always want to be on the safe side.”
Some will contend that holding the event two days before the start of spring does not qualify as a “polar plunge.” Dorian is not buying it.
“I think it (water) is going to be quite cold,” he said, adding that in the future the plunge might be moved earlier in the year. “That was our dilemma, whether we wanted to do it right now (January) or wait a little bit. For this first one we don’t want to petrify people too much. If we can continue to grow we’ll probably start pushing it back into January or February.”
For more information contact Dorian at (573) 221-1503 or e-mail him at hpr_supervisor@yahoo.com .
