Fort Langley’s Polar Bear Swim is set for New Year’s Day, Monday, Jan. 1, at noon.
An estimated 200 people took the plunge into the frigid water of the Bedford Channel last year, and event founder Darian Kovacs anticipates a crowd again this year.
“I also think there’s a rise in cold plunging… so, for people who are interested in the cold plunge, this could be their first cold plunge of the season,” he said.
This year, participants should gather along the beach on Brae Island Regional Park across the Jacob Haldi Bridge from the village, between 11:30 and 11:45 a.m., with the plunge taking place at exactly noon.
Kovacs and some friends started the loosely-organized annual event in 2014, and through the years it has grown, drawing crowds in the hundreds.
There is no official organization, no registration, and no entry fees.
READ MORE: Langley residents brave the cold for annual Polar Bear Swim
It appears the other Langley-area cold New Year’s dunking won’t be happening, however.
There will be no Polar Bear Plunge at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre (ACUCC) in the unheated Otter Co-op Outdoor Experience wave pool (not the covered and heated pool at the centre).
In an unsigned statement in response to a Langley Advance Times query, the Township confirmed there would be no swim.
“The Township continues to focus on deploying available recreation staff resources to our regular high-demand programs and will not be running the Polar Bear Swim special event this winter.”
In just two years, the event had grown to attract more than 200 adults and kids before the pandemic forced a shutdown.
The last Polar Bear Swim in Aldergrove was held on New Year’s Day in 2020.
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s 104-year-old Polar Bear Swim is returning on Jan. 1 at English Bay.
The event will run from 12 to 4 p.m., with the program beginning at 2 p.m. and the official swim at 2:30 p.m.
Registration with the Vancouver parks, recreation, and culture department is now open, and participants should sign up in advance to receive their participation certificate.
SEE ALSO: VIDEO: Hundreds gathered during annual polar bear plunge in Fort Langley
