{"id":75768,"date":"2026-01-01T20:15:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T20:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/75768\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T20:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T20:15:26","slug":"hundreds-brave-lake-erie-for-third-annual-port-plunge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/75768\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds brave Lake Erie for third annual ‘Port Plunge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Temperatures in the 20s with snow and ice ordinarily aren\u2019t ideal conditions for a trip to the beach.<\/p>\n

However, Shawn Coyne and a group of friends including his daughter\u2019s fiance headed to Fairport Harbor Lakefront Beach on New Year\u2019s Day to test the frigid waters of Lake Erie as part of the third annual \u2018Port Plunge.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople pose for pictures as they wait to test the frigid waters of Lake Erie as part of the ‘Port Plunge at Fairport Harbor Lakefront Beach on Jan. 1. (William Tilton – News-Herald)<\/p>\n

Coyne\u2019s explanation for taking a freezing cold swim to ring in the New Year was matter of fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I am crazy,\u201d Coyne said with a laugh as he tried to warm up. \u201cThis is one more thing to cross off the bucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event helps raise funds for the Fairport Harbor Arts and Culture Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Justin Levine of the FHACA said 152 people were pre-registered and at least 40 more registered on site before taking the plunge at noon.<\/p>\n

A registration fee of $25 or $30 with shirt pays for the Fairport Harbor EMS to be on site and in the water. Profits support the FHACA free annual events and Fairport Harbor Schools.<\/p>\n

\"HundredsHundreds of people rang in New Year’s Day by taking the ‘Port Plunge at Fairport Harbor Lakefront Beach on Jan. 1. (William Tilton – News-Herald)<\/p>\n

In addition, for the first time they partnered with the Lake County YMCA, and there was a registration option to have a portion of the fee go back to the YMCA to support their programs.<\/p>\n

Hot drinks provided by Julbeans Coffee and Crepes and pizza by Regos Brickhouse Pizza were available for plungers to stay warm before hitting the water.<\/p>\n

Levine said this was the first time they had to deal with snow and a narrow opening had to be cut in the ice to enter the water, but the enthusiasm wasn\u2019t any less than the previous two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the first year nothing really surprises me,\u201d Levine said. \u201cTechnically, it is for wellness taking a cold plunge and effects on the body. Really we look at it as a fresh start to the year. Seeing so many people with smiles on their faces coming out of the water just blows my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The association has a team of six members who were on hand to get people registered, pass out shirts and help with beverages. Levine said about 10 or 15 members of the community also pitched in to help ensure the event ran smoothly.<\/p>\n

For Coyne, the plunge for the most part lived up to his expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be,\u201d Coyne said. \u201cWill I come back and do it again? I might.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Temperatures in the 20s with snow and ice ordinarily aren\u2019t ideal conditions for a trip to the beach.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137,38993,38995,38994,22575,3816,260,22574,38927,22573],"class_list":["post-75768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-fairport-harbor-arts-and-culture-alliance","tag-fairport-harbor-lakefront-beach","tag-fhaca","tag-justin-levine","tag-lake-county","tag-lake-erie","tag-new-years-day","tag-polar-plunge","tag-port-plunge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}