The temperature in Bethel never rose above twenty degrees Saturday. That made the scene on the bank of the Androscoggin River a particularly odd one.
Twenty-two people, including 15 teenage girls, stood on a pile of ice flows. The group was clad in everything from bathrobes to bathing suits to bits of softball uniforms. A larger group of onlookers was dressed more sensibly, and most were holding towels, blankets, and winter coats.
The scene was part of Bethel’s annual Winterfest. For the fourth year, the Androscoggin River Polar Bear Plunge took place at Bethel Outdoor Adventure and Campground. This year, the jumpers were raising money to benefit the Bethel Fire Department and the Telstar High School girls’ softball team.
Softball coach Jim Lunney joined 15 members of his team in the plunge. It was his first polar bear swim, he said, “and it could be my last.” The team is raising money for a trip to North Carolina to play softball during their spring break.
When the time came, all twenty-two jumpers held hands and plunged together into the icy water. None stayed in for a leisurely swim, though, as parents, spouses and friends rushed forward to pull the chilly swimmers from the river and wrap them in something warm.
Steve Wight has participated in the jump every year since it began. “I actually flew over this hole in a balloon this morning,” he said. “It looked cold from up there.”
Balloonist Michael Lavoie hadn’t expected that the balloon ascent would take place. There was a brisk wind all day Saturday, making it seem much colder, as well as making it a dangerous day to fly. “We walked out of the inn this morning and looked around and said ‘No way. We’re not going up today,'” said Lavoie, “but when we came down here [to the Bethel Airport] it was OK.”
“It was a short flight, but a picturesque one,” said fellow balloonist Walter Crites.
By midafternoon, the wind was too strong for another ascent, but the group of balloonists hope to have another flight at dawn Sunday morning.
More than thirty snowmobilers participated in the third annual radar run at the airport. They competed in seven categories, based on engine size. Winners received gift certificates to local businesses, including event sponsor Profile Motor Sports Plus. Organizers felt that the event’s low turnout was due to other winterfests happening around the state.
There were advantages to being one of a small number of competitors, though. With a higher chance of winning, “it’s good for morale, and it’s great for bragging rights,” said one organizer.
Competitors didn’t seem to be bothered by the cold. “The colder the better for a snowmobiler,” claimed one racer.
Across town, ice sculptors performed their craft in the town Commons. Pat Friel, executive chef at Sunday River, carved a heart topped with two love birds, while Steve Stone put the finishing touches on an eagle.
Stone, who was been creating ice sculptures since he was seven years old, explained that the craft goes hand-in-hand with being a chef. “A lot of them go on buffets,” he said. There is also a big demand for ice sculptures at weddings. Stone sculpts in many media, including sugar and chocolate.
Each ice sculpture begins as a three hundred pound block of ice, about four feet long and two feet wide. The blocks are pressure treated as they freeze, so that no air bubbles form in the ice. Most of the carving is done with a chain saw, Stone said, including the feathers on his two eagle sculptures. Finer touches are created with ice chisels.
The sculptures will remain on the Common, where they can be viewed until the weather warms. In addition, the snowmobile radar run will continue at the Bethel airport Sunday from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m.
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