Aside from the Pie Joust in August (see our coverage here), nothing else can quite match this wacky tradition – just look for the foolish, er we mean brave folks gathering ’round in bathrobes and swimsuits in the 3500 block of SW 172nd Street just before Noon on Jan. 1st.

The entire affair lasts 15-25 minutes, and the actual plunge itself is about a minute or so. Or longer, depending on the participants.

Everyone’s welcome to attend this free event, and we encourage all participants and visitors to bring some non-perishable food (or a check) for the Highline Area Food Bank. Oh, and a blanket and your swimsuit too!

Never done it, but want to see what it’s like? Just check out our videos below of defending Polar Bear Plunge champion’s Bart Bryan’s previous plunges, shot and produced by Publisher Scott Schaefer, and featuring our exclusive, waterproof “Polar Bear Plunge POV” cam:

Click here to view the embedded video.

From 2010:

Click here to view the embedded video.

From 2009:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, here are some great pics shot by Jana Kleitsch last year:

As usual, The B-Town Blog’s foolish, er we mean intrepid Bart (pictured above with an actual Polar Bear) will be plunging again, using our high-tech waterproof video cam for another exclusive “POV” first-hand view of his chilly, shrink-inducing experience.

We’ll see ya there!

We’re proud to announce that The B-Town Blog’s own Bart Bryan, known worldwide for his infamous daredevil feats of strength (some say foolishness), will be “Freezin’ for a Reason” this Saturday, Jan. 29th, at 11am at Alki Beach in West Seattle, to help raise money for Special Olympics.

And not only will Bart be there, but two nutty thoughtful sisters of Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer will also be taking the plunge, along with numerous other local notables, mostly consisting of law enforcement officials from around the Puget Sound area.

Bart, like other plungers, is trying to raise money for Special Olympics, and he’s humbly asking for donations at a website here; so if you can, please click and make a donation. Even though his goal is $1,000, Bart wants to make sure everyone knows that “No amount is too small to donate!”

“I will be part of the ‘Frozen Smiths’ team, and I will be jumping into the bone-chilling water off Alki this Saturday morning at 11am to benefit the Special Olympics,” Bart said. “Help me raise money for this worthy cause, my goal is to raise $1,000 ANY help would be greatly appreciated!”

According to a statement from event organizer Norm Smith:

Every year thousands of athletes from Washington State get to compete as part of a Special Olympics team at no charge to them. This is not possible without kind souls such as you that will donate money to see nutty people like me do fun stuff like jumping off 500 foot buildings in the summer or jumping into the freezing waters of Puget Sound in the middle of winter. On January 29th my son Zach and I will be joining hundreds of nutty people to jump in the waters off of Alki Beach in Seattle. Now comes your part! How about a nice donation to get the juices flowing and the good feelings for you knowing that you are helping over 7,000 Special Olympics ahtletes compete in Washington State in 2011 for free. Your donation is much appreciated and I can feel the love even if I won’t be able to feel my toes.

Thank you for your help!

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to do a Polar Bear Plunge, here are some videos from Bart’s previous three plunges – be sure to pay close attention to our exclusive waterproof “POV Camera” scenes, showing Bart’s very visceral reaction to the cold waters (and note that for 2011, Bart is the reigning champion of Burien’s plunge at Three Tree Point):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What better way to start the New Year than by waking up – no wait, make that SHOCKING – your body by participating in Burien’s annual Polar Bear Plunge at Three Tree Point on New Year’s Day?

Quite frankly, nothing can match this annual tradition, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 1st at Noon, in the 3500 block of SW 172nd – just look for the foolish, er we mean brave folks gathering ’round in bathrobes and swimsuits.

The entire affair lasts 15-25 minutes, and the actual plunge itself is about a minute or so.

Everyone’s welcome to attend, and we encourage all participants and visitors to bring some non-perishable food (or a check) for the Highline Area Food Bank.

Never done it, but want to see what it’s like? Just check out our own Bart Bryan’s previous two plunges here:

First, from 2009:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And last year’s:

Click here to view the embedded video.

As usual, The B-Town Blog’s foolish, er we mean intrepid Bart will be plunging again, using our high-tech waterproof video cam for another exclusive “POV” first-hand view of his chilly, shrink-inducing experience.

We’ll see ya there!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: A lovely lady named Heidi won the “Win a Date With Bart Bryan Contest” last week. Bart Bryan is The B-Town’s Blog’s single Sales Guy and frequent video Host. Heidi and Bart enjoyed dinner and dancing this last Saturday night at the Burien/White Center Rotary Club's annual dinner and auction fundraiser. Here is Bart’s report:]

Story by Bart Bryan
Photos by Mark Neuman

I was pretty nervous as I waited at South Seattle Community College for my date Heidi to arrive for our big night.

I anxiously waited at the valet parking area when she pulled up.

Heidi looked beautiful in a purple dress as I helped her out of her car. We walked into the ballroom and found our table right in front of the stage.

We sat down and instantly hit if off. We then took Fox Trot lessons from a professional dance instructor, the enthusiastic Courteney Lynn. We had a blast as we, well, Fox Trotted across the floor.

We then had a wonderful dinner, prepared by the culinary students at South Seattle Community College, as we chatted with our tablemates as the evening unfolded.

The auction and raffle drawing began at 8 o’clock, and to my surprise my name was announced. After absorbing good natured ribbing, courtesy BTB Advertiser Tami Greene, Heidi was then introduced, whereupon she randomly selected the first winning raffle ticket out of a hat.

“Every year the auction and dinner supports several community programs and scholarships within the Burien and White Center areas,” said Tami, who is also the Public Relations person for the Rotary Club.

After the auction, Heidi and I danced the night away to the classic Rock and R&B stylings of the great local band Uncle Ernie.

And before we knew it, the night came to an end.

As I walked Heidi to her car I asked “Do I get a second date with you at the Mark Restaurant?”

She laughed and said “Well, I guess so!”

We hugged goodnight and after the embrace I looked in her eyes, and…

I’ll leave the rest up to the reader’s imagination…

For more Rotary information go to: http://bwcrotaryclub.org.

Here’s a Photo Slideshow of the evening, as shot by Mark Neuman:

Click to View Mark Neuman’s Photo Slideshow

REMINDER: The deadline to “Win A Date With Bart” (The B-Town Blog’s own Bart Bryan) is 5pm Wednesday, Feb. 10th, so we encourage all ladies who’d like to get a FREE dinner & dancing date at the Rotary Club’s

Bart’s lucky date will enjoy complimentary cocktails, dinner, a live auction, raffle prizes and dancing to two different bands – all on the house this Saturday night, Feb. 13th at South Seattle Community College.

Our single friend Bart is 50-years young, blue-eyed, still has most of his hair, with a sparkling personality and great sense of humor. Bart confesses that he can also still “bust a move” on the dance floor, and is “looking for a fun date for a great romantic dinner dance for a great cause!”

To enter, you must be at least 21 years old and a female. We will announce the winner this Friday, Feb. 12th at Noon.

Please email us with a recent picture, a short bio and why you want to be Bart’s date by 5pm Wed. Feb. 10th!

For more info on this contest, please click here to read our previous post, which includes videos of Bart both without a shirt and sans pants.

B-Town Blog Sales Guy/Host Bart Bryan needs a Date for the Rotary Club of Burien/White Center’s Rockin’ Valentines Dinner and Dance, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 13th at South Seattle Community College.

Bart’s lucky date will enjoy cocktails, dinner, a live auction, raffle prizes and dancing to two different bands – all on the house!

To add to the romance, there will also be corsages, boutinnieres, and chocolates available for Bart to buy you (just make sure Bart gets a receipt so he can be reimbursed by the BTB!).

Here’s the dinner menu:

• Greek Salad
• Grilled All Natural Chicken with Sundried Tomato Tapenad
• Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Pesto
• Fresh Vegetable Medley

Last summer, Bart emceed the Big Brothers Big Sisters Big Plane Pull (photo by Lucas Westcoat).

And if having a nice dinner out isn’t enough enticement to have a date with Bart, how’s about dancing to The West Coast Swing (crooning sounds of Frank Sinatra and fellow Rat-Packers) followed by local Jazz/Rock band Uncle Ernies?

Our single friend Bart is 50-years young, blue-eyed, still has most of his hair, with a sparkling personality and great sense of humor. He’s also pretty fit (fit enough to do a polar bear plunge – see the video below!). Bart confesses that he can also still “bust a move” on the dance floor, and is “looking for a fun date for a great romantic dinner dance for a great cause!”

If you’re interested in winning a free date night with this Bart-o-licious man at the Rotary’s Rockin’ Valentines Dinner and Dance, and you’re over 21 and not old enough to be Bart’s mother, email us with a recent picture, a short bio and why you want to be Bart’s date by 5pm Wed. Feb. 10th.

Our Readers will choose the winner via an online poll, so make sure your entry is good, and that you include an interesting photo and a fun, short bio.

In addition to a night of dining and dancing with Bart, the winner will receive another night out at at The Mark  Restaurant courtesy of the Mark’s Debra George.

The entry deadline is Wed., Feb. 10th at 5pm, and the winner will be voted on and announced Friday, Feb. 12th at Noon right here on The B-Town Blog, so ladies…email your entries in ASAP!

Also, if you’re interested in attending this great, fun fundraiser event yourself (either to watch Bart’s date or have one of your own), you can still purchase tickets online by clicking here.

And now ladies, if you’ve ever fantasized about what Bart looks like with his shirt off whilst immersed in chilly 46-degree Puget Sound water, here’s a video of him doing the annual Polar Bear Plunge at Three Tree Point on Jan. 1st:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s what Bart looks like without his pants. In public. On the Link light rail:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We know there are no excuses for posting this video so late, as the event took place last Sunday (Jan. 10th), but, um…we left our Flip camera in our other pants, and since we weren’t wearing any to begin with…

Actually, we hate to just throw up lame raw video, and editing takes time, and um…there’s that whole “other pants” thing again.

But first, a little interesting behind-the-scenes backstory:

Two days before the pantsless prank, we received the following email from Emerald City Improv‘s Kelsey Wildstone:

First, please remember that we’re trying to be inconspicuous here.

If you’d like to film the event with a motion camera, try to find a way to disguise your camera in a box or something to make it a sort of “hidden camera”.

Use some creativity here, but the point is that we’d like to avoid people seeing you openly point a camera around.

Considering that we respect the fine art of successful pranking, and that our Publisher used to work on a hidden camera TV show (“Totally Hidden Video,” Fox), we wanted to abide by this request (unlike some local TV news stations who just showed up and shot with their huge cameras and “Reporters”). The end result was that our shooter Mark Neuman went out of his way to “disguise” our Flip camera thusly:

Mark discovered that the Flip cam fit nicely inside an empty coffeecup. Just don't put it in a full one...

A little bit of cloth and tape secured the cam in tight.

...and with a hole cut in the side, it's hidden camera time!

Okay, so here it is (finally!)…with video shot by Neuman, featuring Bart Bryan, edited by Scott Schaefer and featuring the groovy public domain hit “Midnight Special” recorded by some long-dead dude named Bill Cox in 1933, ironically during the last Great Depression when not wearing pants wasn’t a prank, it was a way of life:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, we were very curious to find out what the MuckyMucks at SoundTransit thought of this pantsless prank, so we sent an email to Andrew Schmid, Sound Transit Media Relations director –here’s his response:

Q: Was ST aware beforehand that this was going to happen?
A: No, we were totally caught with our… (unless you lack internet access, it was almost impossible to not know about this event).

Q: Did ST security goes pantsless?
A: No.

Q: Was security worried about this prank at all?
A: Slightly – our security is worried about everything.

Q: Did this event increase ridership? if so, by how much? (have any estimate on the # of pantsless?)
A: Yes, but the infrared technology on Link’s Automatic Passenger Counting machines is not designed to distinguish between the pant-sed and the pants challenged.

Q: Will ST tolerate future events like this?
A: So long as folks follow our code of conduct (read it here).

Q: Will ST ever sponsor future events like this?
A: No.

Q: How about creating some ST underwear for folks to wear?
A: Sorta already been done – see this.

Q: Did you, or any other ST officials, attend?
A: NO COMMENT

And in case you haven’t seen the other videos, here they are:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Story and Video by Scott Schaefer

As if on cue, the sun made a brief appearance, the rain stopped, and during a nice lull on an otherwise typical, windy New Year’s Day, 29 people braved the chilly waters of Puget Sound and kicked off the new decade and year at the annual Three Tree Point Polar Bear Plunge in Burien.

With air temps hovering around a mild 50 degrees, and the water temp not far below, this was the biggest turnout that we’ve ever seen for Burien’s annual festivity.

This event also served as a fundraiser for the Highline Food Bank, and according to co-organizer Bob Hubbs, netted 100 pounds of food donations and $50 in cash.

Carol O’Kennedy (along with her dog Kaya) was awarded the Polar Bear Plunge trophy, which consisted of a piece of driftwood, a small Polar Bear and a plaque. To see Carol and her dog, be sure to watch the video below.

Our own intrepid Sales Dude Bart Bryan also participated (after first getting some “fortification”), utilizing our exclusive, customized and waterproofed “Polar Bear Plunge POV” video camera, and here’s our video of the day’s event:

Click here to view the embedded video.

More than 200 people showed up to support the teams and help raise money.

Team JTAC, of the Washington Air National Guard, won the tournament, pulling a Cessna Citation 550 for 100 feet and a Cessna 402 for 75 feet in a total of 22.68 seconds.

BIG Hair & 80’s Rock were the top fundraising team, raising a grand total of $9,125.

Here’s a Slideshow of the event, as Photographed by Lucas Westcoat:

Click to View Lucas Westcoat’s Photo Slideshow

There’s still time to get involved in “The BIG Plane Pull – The TOURNAMENT!” fundraiser benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound this Saturday, July 18th from 11am to 2pm at Boeing Field.

And we’re pleased to report that this event, which is expected to raise about $50,000, will be hosted by the B-Town Blog’s very own Bart Bryan (to see Bart nearly naked in action, click here)!

About 50 teams consisting of five participants each will compete in a single elimination tournament. Teams will race against each other to cross the finish line all while pulling an airplane by rope!

Additional activities include trivia, a raffle and a free BIG Bracket Challenge to add to everyone’s chances of winning prizes, including roundtrip tickets on Horizon Air.

Here are some of the catchy names of teams who will be participating:

• Secret Bandwidth Agents (sponsor team)
• Get ‘Er Done (sponsor team)
• The Lambda’s (sponsor team)
• YPC Movers & Shakers
• Apollo
• Team JTAC (National Guard Team)
• Jenny and the Jets
• Jefferson Airplane
• Purple Pullverizers
• I’ve Pulled Bigger
• BIG Hair & 80’s Rock!

For more information, please feel free to contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound by calling 206.763.9060, or visit their website: www.bbbsps.org.