OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce Silver Creek’s Village Board discussed the Jan. 9 Polar Plunge for charity.

SILVER CREEK — The village of Silver Creek’s 20th annual Polar Bear Plunge for charity will be held on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. The swim will be at 23 Jackson St. in the village, and there will be other non-swimming events beginning at noon.

Silver Creek Mayor Jeff Hornburg said that the Village should prepare for an influx of visitors around that time. “We want to make sure you’re aware we will have a lot of visitors in the village. We have asked for assistance from the Silver Creek Fire Emergency Squad and the Sunset Bay Fire Department,” he said. “We’ve also informed Sheriff (Jim) Quattrone for public safety reasons.”

Silver Creek’s Polar Plunge is put on by Pamela Forge, the editor of the Explore NY website, who has significant experience with holding charity swim events. Hornburg said anyone with recommendations of how to better the Polar Plunge experience or keep people safe should contact the village.

Money raised will be donated to Oishei Children’s Hospital, the Silver Creek Rescue Squad, Sunset Bay Fire Dept. and the Silver Creek Food Pantry. There is a goal set to purchase a Beltless Monitor for the Oishei Children’s Hospital Mother Baby unit, which costs $8,040. So far, there is $2,000 raised toward it from the Chicken Swim in August.

Non-swimming events include Fantasy Black Jack, penny auctions, music by Rock ‘n Roll to the Rescue, chili and other food items, a full bar and raffles. Pledge sheets are available by calling 716-430-3775 or emailing pforge@exploreny.net. Prizes are awarded for the “Best Dressed Swimmer” and the “Swimmer Generating Most Pledges.”

While expecting this increase in visitors, Hornburg noted that although Chautauqua County isn’t directly enforcing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate, anyone visiting the village of Silver Creek should expect to mask up for the purposes of safety.

“We’re going to enforce it until Governor Hochul tells us not to,” he said.

Additionally, Jan. 3 will be the swearing in ceremony for the village. While it was originally scheduled for the Jan. 17 meeting, the village of Silver Creek has elected to cancel their second meeting of January to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.