REND LAKE, Ill. -- Three Polar Plunge events are set to take place in southern Illinois in 2025. ... The Polar Plunge started in Lake Bluff in 1999 with 150 plungers.

A fellow General Motors employee asked John Grider if he was going to jump in the lake Saturday for the sixth annual Polar Bear Plunge.

This year’s Polar Bear Plunge at Seaside is on Feb. 22. Last year’s plunge, the 31st held in Seaside Heights, drew approximately 8,000 spectators and participants , according to organizers.