POLAR BEAR SWIMS, those zany crowd-pleasing dunks in chilly lake or ocean water, are often associated with the first day of the year. For what better way to greet the next 365 days than in a wacky costume, or a bathing suit, or a bathing suit-wacky costume combo? While in some goosepimple-inducing waves? Waves that are understandably icy, given that it is Jan. 1, and there may even be snow on the ground nearby, or flakes falling through the air? If, however, you prefer to stay tucked up on New Year's Day, in your jam-jams, watching the game, watching the parade, or just catching a few extra hours of sleep, there's really good news: You won't have missed all of the Polar Bear Swimming for the year. Oh, you might think you have, and when your friends invite you out to join them in a body of ice-cube-y water, you feel safe in shrugging while informing them your New Year's Day is for catching up on rest and nothing more. But take heart, for there's the North Lake Tahoe Snowfest, which isn't in January but in early March, and its...
POLAR BEAR SWIM... is one of the shivery centerpieces. It's all splooshing on Saturday, March 3, 2018, and "(h)undreds of spectactors" are expected to gather around the pier at Gar Woods to watch participants wade in. Scratch that, fearless participants'll go far beyond wading into the lake, for they'll need to "swim approx. 250 yards in 39 degree, bone-chiling waters before returning to Gar Woods Bar to 'minimize the pain.'" If this appeals, and the fact that you can still sleep in on New Year's Day, missing the bulk of the annual Polar Bear Swims around California, hooray: You can still join a biggie in 2018, the one in March. So get up on all of the North Lake Tahoe Snowfest happenings, from the fireworks to the Tahoe City Parade to a host of other mirthful, wear-a-parka-ful goings-on. It's still winter in early March, and very much so in North Lake Tahoe, where one of the zaniest of the PBSes splashes on the first Saturday, brrrr.
