Thank You for Joining us at Polar Plunge 2024
Polar Plunge 2024
Polar Plunge 2024 was our 5 th annual and biggest plunge yet: over 400 plungers and well over 500 people in attendance! Thank you to those that joined FLSSP and state park staff at Lake Sammamish State Park for chowder, donuts, coffee, first day hikes, and of course a cold dip in the lake! We sure did make a splash! Check out the photos below and consider sharing yours with us by sending them to operations@flssp.org.
Thank you to our incredible sponsors - Banner Bank and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health - for your support; Ivar’s Acres of Clams for donating and serving hot chowder to keep our plungers warm and providing coupons for more; Starbucks Issaquah Meadows and Krispy Kreme Issaquah for donating coffee, hot water, and donuts; Eastside Fire and Rescue for being on hand to ensure everyone was safe and taking some great drone footage; Patagonia for donating an amazing grand prize for our costume contest; and our partner, Washington State Parks for additional snacks and the fun and educational First Day Hikes! Thank you to our volunteers – FLSSP Board members and community members alike –who helped us run the show!
We are excited that so many people took part in this year’s First Day Hikes with Northwest Region Interpretive Specialist Amber Brooks. Amber lead two walks along the Sunset Beach Boardwalk, guiding participants in looking for feathered and furry friends along Issaquah Creek. She shared information about the wildlife that inhabit the park and lake, the park’s history, and didn’t leave a single question unanswered. Roughly 130 people joined in on these hikes and collectively walked about 65 miles in the park! Thank you, Amber, for also providing a fun Washington State Parks backdrop for selfies!
Our Costume Contest featured three categories this year: Holiday Festiveness, 80s Throwback, and Pacific Northwest. We LOVED seeing the creativity displayed by each of our entrants! Congratulations to The Grinch, winner of the Holiday Festiveness category; 80s Fitness Instructor, winner of the 80s Throwback category; and the Mathis Family (including sasquatch, slug, orca, salmon, Starbucks barista, and Amazon package dog!), winner of the Pacific Northwest category and grand prize winner. Runners up received FLSSP prize packs and $25 gift cards to Ivar’s, and our Grand Prize winner received a Patagonia backpack donated by Patagonia.
FLSSP is thrilled to continue this fun and festive Issaquah New Year’s Day tradition in our warm and inclusive community and would welcome any new volunteers who would like to help us make events like this successful. We are already in the planning stages for our remaining 2024 Signature Events; Walk n Wag (to be held Saturday, May 4 th ) and Camp S’more (to be held August 10-11). If you are interested in joining us for this work, please reach out to our Executive Director, Jessica Schafer, at director@flssp.org for more information.
Happy New Year, friends! We hope to see you at the park in 2024!
