Polar Plunging and Peaceful Partying
Mount Desert Island Welcomes 2025
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank.
BERNARD—”Crazy!” one of the fifty or so people gathered at Lopaus Point Road as the rain pelted down and the cold ocean waited swathed in fog and gray. This was it. They were headed in, ready for a polar plunge into frigid waters. “This is crazy!”
“Crazy!” someone shouted back.
“So crazy!”
The swimmers, the onlookers, and the Tremont Volunteer Fire Department personnel stood out brightly against the gray backdrop of ocean waves and rain cloud covered sky even as they shivered, shook their heads, or did happy dances to get warm before they plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, a tradition in the island town of approximately 1,500 residents.
“We’re doing this,” one guy laughed. “We’re really doing this.”
“Crazy.”
There’s a resilience that happens in this moment, a challenge, a way of meeting the elements head on—or at least body first. But there’s also a joy and a massive sense of community, of togetherness as people meet the ocean and the year with a wild and purposeful immersion.
“There is hot chocolate in the tent,” Fire Chief Keith Higgins told one person after another. “You can go get some.”
Inside the tent, one little girl proudly tasted her first hot cocoa. “Was it good?” people asked.
She smiled.
“So good?”
She nodded enthusiastically and requested a topping off. It was that good.
And that’s the thing. There is something so good in a moment like this—be the dunking into the sea be called crazy or not—in a moment where people come together and do something weird, something that most of them don’t do every day.
Here’s the thing about why this event is special; it’s special they do it together and they do it with care.
Tremont had a swimmer in cold-water gear who goes in the water ahead of time to survey the crowd and make sure everyone is safe. That swimmer is Bill Weir and he’s normally in a kayak, but the waves were too rough for that this year. Volunteers help people park, dogs gallop joyously during its annual event. But it’s more than that: Families keep each other warm. Friends laugh as they hike back to the main road calling out for more hot chocolate. People cheer each other on, reveling in the wildness of it, the simplicity.
“This is the best!” one young man bellowed, laughing.
Before plunging into the water, everyone waits. A moment passes. Another.
People start stripping off their clothes until they’re no longer wearing parkas and hats, raincoats and boots despite the rain pouring down. They bare their skin to the cold Maine air, wearing just swimsuits, and then they make a decision and jump or run or slowly walk into frigid water.
No, very frigid water.
Let’s revise that. They head into the extremely frigid water of the Atlantic where the temperature is in the low 40s Fahrenheit, and somewhere between 6 and 7 degrees Celsius.
Often, polar plunges or “polar bear plunges” are held for charities. People raise money by going into the frigid water. But they are also traditions for no reason at all other than to jump into super cold water on New Year’s Day.
In Boston, a polar plunge began in 1904 and its considered the first polar plunge in our country. However, another is recorded a year earlier in Coney Island. In Vancouver, Canada, an active club has existed since 1920 and has 1,000 to 2,000 people plunging into the English Bay on January 1. In the Netherlands more than 30,000 have participated in Nieuwjaarsuik, the New Year’s Dive. The Netherlands hosts multiple sites across the country for the dive.
“Members of the Tremont Fire Department, Southwest Harbor-Tremont Ambulance, and Town Officials were on hand for the event. This event was established to allow our members to interact and/or meet community members, as a volunteer membership campaign and as a ‘FUNraiser,’” the organization’s page read last year.
“If you’ve considered doing something spectacular for the new year, please consider volunteering at one of our local emergency service teams,” the Tremont Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook page explained.
OTHER PLUNGES
It’s a challenge. It’s a ritual. And though the people gathered in Tremont, they also gathered at the same time—10 a.m.—at Seal Harbor Beach and Sand Beach, too.
Last year, Sand Beach on January 1 people were clustered in groups ranging from one to more than a dozen.
“I’m getting rid of the evil spirits,” said Ed Hawes last year at Sand Beach, a twinkle in his eye before he headed into the water just a bit after 10 a.m. He bellowed and dove. Evil spirits gone.
Next to them, a family rushed in, dad leading the way. Beyond them, groups of friends, couples, solo adventurers, made their way past the algae and into the increasing waves.
The polar plunge has happened in Bar Harbor for decades. Some years, it’s crowded. Some years, there has been a bull horn and a massive wave of humans all jumping into the water together to meet the less stoppable waves of the ocean. Some years, one group scraggles in after another with no fanfare really, just their own shouts of torment or joy as the water crashes against ankles and shins and torsos. Some dive in. Some keep their arms above their heads. Some laugh. Some shriek. Some giggle. Some are completely silent.
Back in 2000, at a Sand Beach plunge that involved about 15 people and brought in the millennium, the Bangor Daily News quoted then-Bar Harbor Harbormaster Eddie Monat as saying, “Wow, that felt pretty good.”
Pretty good? Pretty cold? It’s a matter of perspective.
Monat went back in a second time.
Heading into cold water is potentially dangerous for people who have heart conditions or who may panic. In the cold water, blood pressure raises and so do heartbeats. For others, it can feel invigorating and give clarity and joy.
Plunges are traditions on Mount Desert Island now, but they are also celebrations of a new year, of community, of people coming together and wanting to be together, of enthusiasm for a place and for those emergency responders in Tremont, it’s also a celebration of a calling, of service, of giving back and being there for each other. It’s hard to imagine a better way to start a new year than that.
OTHER EVENTS FOR NEW YEAR’S
If you walked through downtown Bar Harbor New Year’s Eve, the streets were slippery and mostly dark, but as you came across other people outside, locals mostly, there was something magic in the air.
People may or not have recognized each other, but over and over again, there were shouts of glee, names called, arms wide open and hugs.
“Happy New Year, guys,” became a refrain as people walked and met up on sidewalks or in the middle of the streets or at the threshold of places like the Barnacle or the Finback Alehouse.
The greetings would interrupt the moments of darkness.
“Hello! Oh my gosh! Hey! Happy New Year.”
“Are you good? I’m good. So good.”
Revelers chose to greet New Year’s in multiple ways across the island. On New Year’s Eve, some gathered in restaurants and pubs to dance into the new year, hoisting up champagne toasts at the Barnacle or Le Brun, partying on the dance floor at Side Street and the Annex, singing along with That Maine Band at Finback or the smooth jazz tunes at Havana (until 10), or enjoying a good meal at other restaurants. Oysters were had by many.
The thing is that all of the events, the parties, the food served, the drinks poured, the music played come from people working to make it happen.
“New Year's Eve provides a wonderful opportunity for hospitality professionals all over Bar Harbor to host our locals and visitors, alike,” said Bar Harbor Chamber Board President Bo Jennings. “Those businesses that are open this time of year work incredibly hard so that everyone, who chooses to, can ring in the New Year in style. From hotels, to restaurants, to retail shops, to bars, New Year's Eve is a time of celebration. And I think it's important to celebrate all the people that work tirelessly so that everyone can have a great time. Front desk, housekeepers, maintenance, servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, buses, retail, musicians, and all the other workers that I didn't specifically mention, thank you! Without you, all of the festivities around town would not be possible!”
That Maine Band brought the house down at the Finback with its joyous energy, quirky-strong vibes and charisma that makes them a must-experience treat every day—not just as a fantastic way to end the new year.
Crews at restaurants and hotels and bars hustled to keep friends, neighbors, and strangers happy and celebrating.
Over at Side Street Cafe, staff worked and decorated throughout the month, planning and creating even better ways to celebrate the end of the year by expanding the party into the Annex. DJ Jeff Buffington kept the dancing going in the Side Street back room, and live music by Lazers in the Jungle kept it going in the Annex.
“The entire Side Street family came together to make our New Year's Eve party possible,” Jennings said. “We've been preparing for this for months, and it's exciting to see all of that hard work pay off. I'm grateful to have the best team, and the most supportive owners. Jena and Jeff Young got married on New Year's Eve, fifteen years ago, and that has been the core of why the Side Street New Year's Eve party is so special. Continuing that legacy, of opening our doors and ringing in the New Year at Side Street, is one of the best parts about my job,” Jennings said.
At Side Street, and throughout Mount Desert Island, bartenders smiled and poured and took care of everyone. Servers, bussers, and hosts did the same.
The next day, the creatively adventurous headed over to ArtWaves. Some walked in the park or greeted the sunrise, another MDI tradition, that happens despite the overcast and eventually rainy conditions. To a lot of people, that doesn’t really matter. What matters is the community, the traditions, the connections, the gratitude. It’s about being happy to be here.
As the Tremont Volunteer Fire Department said in its Facebook post, “Mother Nature was ugly today at the Plunge but everyone was happy to be there and excited to start off the new year with a splash.”
Staff photos and videos: Shaun Farrar and Carrie Jones
Happy New Year!
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
This story was updated to identify the swimmer as Bill Weir.
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You captured the energy and camaraderie as we plunged ever so briefly into the cool waters at Back Bay! Fire Department does an awesome job.