Presidential Polar Plunge 2019.
VENTNOR – There will be no Polar Plunge this year in Ventnor. Last year was the first year the city held its polar bear plunge on Presidents Day weekend. The event, which was sponsored by the Ventnor Business Association, included a chili bakeoff to warm up plungers.
In prior years, people just showed up at 1 p.m., an hour later than Margate’s event, to jump into the ocean.
According to Commissioner of Public Safety and Public Affairs Tim Kriebel, Ventnor’s plunge was loosely organized by volunteers. The city took over the event last year, but this year, funding is limited and the city decided to forego the plunge, he said.
The city will be assuming several well-attended and “signature” events, Kriebel said.
“The summer concert series, block party and Tour de Downbeach are all going to be city events,” he said.
Margate’s much larger Polar Bear Plunge sponsored by Robert’s Place is tough to compete with, so the city passed on organizing a smaller event again this year.
“My hope is to have those resources focus on higher quality events rather than high quantities of events,” Kriebel said. “We are also adding a projection of a Philly’s game and an Eagles game next year.”
A calendar of events will be posted on the city’s website, www.ventnorcity.org, he said.
