Annapolitans headed to Sandy Point State Park to take the plunge into the Chesapeake Bay and be part of one of the area's most popular fundraisers. Despite the chilly weather on Saturday, participants happily embraced the cold for the Maryland State Police-sponsored Polar Bear Plunge to support Special Olympics Maryland.

Mickey Cucchiella of Baltimore's 98Rock morning show, an event sponsor, told the crowd that the energy of the crowd would warm them up.

“It’s unbelievable how this has grown to an event this size in the five years I’ve been doing it," Cucchiella said.

This year an estimated 12,000 plungers were expected to have participated, with another 13,000 attending the festivities.

There were two plunges on Saturday—the first at 1 p.m. and a second at 3 p.m. Because the event has grown so much over the years, organizers also scheduled a pre-plunge event on Friday for school groups to dip. The "Frigid Friday" event attracted 55 schools this year, up from 21 last year.

Activities for Those Who Didn’t Dip

Many people were out to support their plungers or to just enjoy a day of fun in the middle of winter. This year’s Plungefest had a host of "Frigid Fun Zones." Numerous tents, most of them heated, featured the likes of DJ Pauly D, the MTV Jersey Shore star, the Chesapeake Bayhawks Lacrosse Experience, a tent of relaxation and beauty from Robert Andrew—The Spa and Salon, and a Carnival FunFest offering  merchandise, food and games.

Conrad Bladey of Linthicum and owner of Hutman Artcars, was in the middle of the action. He has been invited back to the event for the last five years. His truck is a visually stimulating art exhibit on wheels. 

“This event is loads of fun and I encourage everyone to dress up all the time, not just once a year,” he said, amused by the variety of plunger costumes.

A special guest of the day and co-chair of the event was Rosa Marcellino, a 9-year -old girl from Edgewater, who is an active athlete at Special Olympics Maryland and was the inspiration behind Rosa’s Law, signed last fall by President Barack Obama. Rosa’s Law changes the references in federal law from mental retardation to intellectual disability.

The federal law followed a similar Maryland Law, also called Rosa’s Law, which was signed in 2009.

Marcellino was escorted for the dip by a very special friend of hers, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. 

As Flacco spoke to the crowd before the plunge, he admitted, "I am getting cold just thinking about it.”

Nevertheless, Flacco valiantly escorted Marcellino down the beach so they could take the dip together with thousands of their new plunging friends.