The LPBC Celebration of Shrinkage took place this year at Oak Street Beach on January 30th at 12pm. By 11 am a warmly dressed crowd of brave souls and interested onlookers had gathered on the beach. The signup tables were overwhelmed with throngs of excited participants ready to face the frigid water. Before doing so they had to sign a waiver acknowledging that they could face grievous physical harm or even death. Just in case of any injuries there were ambulances on hand as well as two chicago police officers in cold weather wetsuits patrolling the swim area.
The LPBC had cleared the ice from a section of the lake using a chainsaw and a shovel in order to create the swimming area. The swimmers gathered near the shore patiently waiting for 12 o'clock to strike. Most were already in their swimwear leaving legs, arms, fingers and toes exposed to the elements. The ice broke and one participant prematurely slid into the cold water. Everybody else quickly followed. Waves of swimmers dashed into the freezing water screaming and shouting. They ran to the edge of the swim area, quickly ducked their head beneath the surface and then turned around and sprinted back even faster. The looks on the swimmers faces embodied a weird mix of joyous triumph and teeth chattering shock. After they exited the water they quickly exchanged wet clothes for dry and some even engaged in jumping jacks in an effort to warm themselves up.
LBPC is a nonprofit that organizes this event in order to benefit families in need. You can visit their website to learn more about making donations.
You can see the rest of the photos here.
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