Soppy New Year! Pittsburghers Plunge Into The Mon

Polar Bear Plunge 2019
Photo credit Melinda Roeder/KDKA Radio

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) — A teddy bear, a Santa and an Elvis step off the Mon Wharf.

It’s not the start of a bad joke; it’s the annual Pittsburgh Polar Bear Plunge.

More than 100 people took the leap into the Monongahela River on New Year’s Day.

The annual jump wasn’t as frigid as last year’s, but the water was still near freezing.

Kenny James of Perryopolis rang in the New Year dressed as Santa Claus.

“Everybody enjoys Santa and everybody’s in a good spirit so that’s the reason that I do this,” he said in his sopping red suit. “Hope to start the New Year in a very good, positive way.”

The event raises funds for Project Bundle-up. Salvation Army volunteers passed out hot cocoa to help warm the plungers back up.

___Melinda Roeder contributed to this report.

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