PORTAGE LAKES, Ohio — Although it was a cold, cloudy winter afternoon, more than 650 people packed the beach at Portage Lakes State Park to go for an icy swim.
These brave souls traded their winter coats for bathing suits and flip-flops Saturday at the 16th annual Portage Lakes Polar Bear Jump, which raised more than $125,000 for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
For those skipping traditional beachwear, many adorned their bodies in goofy costumes, while taking the wickedly cold dip.
The icy stab surging through their bodies brought some hilarious reactions as most raced with numb bare feet to get inside a warming tent.
PHOTOS FROM THE POLAR PLUNGE:
PHOTOS | 2019 Portages Lakes Polar Bear Jump -- gallery 1
PHOTOS | 2019 Portage Lakes Polar Bear Jump -- gallery 2
The air temperature was right around 44 degrees when the event made its first splash at 2 p.m. -- a frigid contrast to two years ago when Mother Nature kissed Northeast Ohio with near 70 degrees for the jump.
Since its inception, the Portage Lakes Polar Bear Jump has raised more than $1.3 million for local charities.
We streamed the entire Polar Bear Jump on our Facebook page, which you can watch again HERE: