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11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 30,2021 insidehalton.com ON NOW AT THE BRICK!ON NOW AT THE BRICK! SAVING YOU MORESAVING YOU MORE SAVING YOU MORE SAVING YOU MORE For more details shop instore or online at thebrick.com BOOST UP. Book your booster today. Protect yourself against COVID-19.agains It's up to all of us. Paid for by the Government of Ontario Visit ontario.ca/covid19 With the new year comes a long-standing Oak- ville tradition -- although once again with pandemic- induced restrictions. The Courage Polar Bear Dip is returning for a 37th year to help people wake up from their holiday slumber. The tradition is simple. Jump into cold water to raise money for charity on New Year's Day. Here are some things to know about the 2022 dip: IT WILL BE A VIRTUAL EVENT Due to restrictions, the dip will not be happening at Lake Ontario, as per tradi- tion. Instead, participants can take part at home using whatever resources are available. If you want to fill your kiddie pool with cold water, you can do that. If you want to put ice in the bathtub, so be it. Just be sure to record yourself taking the plunge and post it on your social media. THIS YEAR'S GOAL IS $100,000 Participants have raised just over $55,000 so far, just over half of the $100,000 goal. The money is being raised for World Vision Canada and will go toward providing clean water for 234,000 people in Rwanda and the Democratic Repub- lic of Congo. Since 1995, the Oakville event has raised $2,057,000 for World Vision. THE EVENT DEBUTED ON A DARE In 1985, Gaye Courage dared her sons, Todd and Trent, to get off the couch and "jump in the lake" to wake themselves up. The event grew larger and larger as more friends joined the two brothers. GAYE COURAGE IS A LOCAL ARTIST Courage, referred to as "Mama Bear," is an artist who often tackles works of architecture, animals and plants. If you would like to take part in the dip, or just want to donate, visit polarbear- dip.ca. POLAR BEAR DIP ONCE AGAIN A VIRTUAL CELEBRATION MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com A crowd prepares to do a polar bear dip in Lake Ontario in January 2020. Metroland file photo NEWS