Photos of ice castles in the United States and Canada Caitlin Shuda/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
GREEN BAY – The tundra might be frozen at Lambeau Field at the end of February, but the water is certain to be very cold.
Special Olympics Wisconsin will move its annual polar plunge fundraiser to the Lambeau Field parking lot near Johnsonville Tailgate Village. In recent years, the event was at The Watering Hole in Howard.
Tommy Jaime, Special Olympics Wisconsin director of communications, said the goal is to draw more than last year's 458 participants to the Feb. 24 event
"We have seen a little bit of an increase in registration so far," he said. "Anecdotally, we've gotten a lot of interest because it's at Lambeau."
Special Olympics Wisconsin's 2016 expenses totaled $7.04 million. Fundraisers in 2017 raised $1.73 million, including $137,012 in the Green Bay Polar Plunge.
The Green Bay polar plunge is one of a dozen throughout Wisconsin; most are held in February. Participants secure pledges for their participation.
The polar plunge goal is to raise $900,000 this year, with $203,360 pledged so far.
Green Bay's goal is $57,000, with $27,172 pledged so far.
The setup will have a 4-foot-deep pool near Johnsonville Tailgate Village. The event starts at 10 a.m., with plunging from noon to 2 p.m. Plungers spend about 10 seconds in the water, which is probably more than enough.
Lambeau has supported Special Olympics Wisconsin, which serves about 10,000 athletes, with other events, such as rappelling down the side of the atrium. Special Olympics also was a beneficiary of the Spartan Race held in June 2017.