Penguin Plunge just around the corner

WINSTED — The 10th annual Penguin Plunge at Highland Lake will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, with registration at The Gilbert School starting at 10 a.m. and the plunge itself taking place at noon.Participants and spectators are asked to not park at the lake, but instead park at The Gilbert School where everyone will be transported from the school to the plunge site.The event, which has become a town tradition, is also held at separate times throughout the state during the winter and is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics.Funds from the event go toward hiring trainers for the athletes who take part in Special Olympics events.Participation at last year’s event was down from the 2011 Penguin Plunge.In 2011, more than 300 people participated and raised $55,000 for the organization. Last year, 119 people participated and raised $45,000.Sharon Pelkey, director of development for the nonprofit organization, said she is hopeful that more people participate in this year’s event.“How important are the Penguin Plunge events? These Penguin Plunges represents about 75 percent of the revenues that we earn for a year,” Pelkey said. “There is a big misconception out there that Special Olympics is a one event organization, and that is not true. We hold over 70 sporting events a year which includes 27 athletic sports. We also have 13,000 athletes who participate that come from all throughout the state.”Pelkey said that this year there will be a Chicken Plunge held at the Northwest YMCA after the main Penguin Plunge event. She said it is called the Chicken Plunge for people who are too “chicken” to dive into Highland Lake.At the Chicken Plunge, participants will have a chance to plunge into a heated YMCA pool instead of diving into the cold waters of Highland Lake.The plunge event itself is a Mardi Gras-type festival with participants all decked out in outlandish costumes.Last year, one group of participants was dressed as characters from “The Wizard of Oz”, while another was dressed up as a football team, wearing inflatable helmets and all.At last year’s plunge, Town Manager Dale Martin took the plunge in a psychedelic hippie-era outfit.“What’s my strategy? To get in and then get out!” Martin said before he took the plunge.Individual plungers must raise at least $75 to participate, while members of a team must raise a minimum of $50 each to take the plunge.For more information call Sharon Pelkey at 203-267-6566 ext. 708 or email sharp@soct.org.A printable entry form for the event is online at soct.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=2702&pg=entry.