Margate Polar Bear Plunge Jan. 1, 2020.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
With Chanukah and Christmas behind us, the Downbeach community looks forward to continuing their holiday celebrations with concerts, celebrations and dips in the ocean.
The ocean water temperature is in the low 40s, but people are still anxious to ring in the new year in a style that’s only possible at the Jersey Shore. Both Ventnor and Margate are holding their annual Polar Bear plunges on New Year’s Day. But other special things to do this week include the long-awaited unveiling of Lucy the Elephant’s makeover, and an evening of beautiful music at the Dominick A. Potena Performing Arts Center.
Lucy the Elephant after her $2.4 million makeover.
First up is Lucy’s unveiling at 1 Lucy Place. Margate’s iconic and well-loved pachyderm has a new look for the New Year. After 15 months under wraps along with supply chain setbacks, finding she needed more work done than anticipated, Lucy’s $2.4 million makeover will be publicly revealed 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28
“We are looking forward to having our beloved Lucy back at 100% and can’t wait for everyone to see how spectacular she looks,” Save Lucy Committee Executive Director Richard Helfant said.
Margate’s Dan Walsh will sing his very own “Lucy the Elephant” song after which Lucy will be unveiled in a “spectacular shower of light.”
If you were lucky enough to get free tickets for the Margate Public Library’s New Year’s Eve holiday concert, you will enjoy a Night at the Opera with soloist Min Jin at the Dominick A. Potena Performing Arts Center. Tickets were offered first to Margate residents and then to the general public, but tickets for this annual orchestra presentation are always snapped up quickly.
Do not fear, music lovers. There’s another free concert being offered 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 at the Martin Bloom Pavilion, 101 S. Huntington Ave. Jeff Uhlig and Mark O’Kain will be performing piano, marimba and xylophone on arrangements of great tunes from the Ragtime era composers, including Copland and Gershwin. Seating is limited to 60 people.
Ventnor Polar Plunge Feb. 16, 2019.
On New Year’s Eve, spectators are welcome to watch 25 revelers jump in the ocean at Suffolk Avenue. The spectacle will be broadcast on Fox News during the network’s New Year’s Eve Special. For those wise enough to watch from the comfort of their couches, coverage with Meteorologist Nick Kosir begins at 9 p.m. from Nucky’s Speakeasy. There will be one segment broadcast from Nucky’s each hour until 11 p.m. The special broadcast moves to the beach at 11:30 p.m. where revelers will anxiously await the midnight hour.
Robert’s Place, 7807 Atlantic Ave. in Margate is the place to be on New Year’s Day when hundreds, if not thousands, of Polar Bears gather for a one-block walk to the beach for the biggest plunge on Absecon Island at noon. A T-shirt and hoodie sale benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.
Meanwhile, at Santucci’s in Ventnor, revelers will be getting ready for the city’s annual Polar Bear Plunge happening at 1 p.m. on the beach at Newport Avenue. Everyone moves back to Santucci’s after the plunge to warm up, drink, eat and celebrate love and luck in the New Year.
Meteorologists have promised the polar vortex that brought single-digit temperatures for Christmas and Chanukah is on the wane. A look at the extended forecast shows temperatures warming up considerably.
It will clear and around 50 degrees for Lucy’s big night. It will be even warmer by the weekend, with the forecast showing a high of 60 degrees with clouds and a little rain on New Year’s Day.
