Hundreds in Dartmouth, N.S., marked the new year by plunging into the frigid water of Lake Banook.
Laurel Floyd from Ottawa was one of the brave dippers who waded into icy lake with her daughter and son in-law, saying the plunge felt exhilarating.
It was her first time doing a polar dip, and she says it felt great to try something new on the first day of 2026.
Koko McNeill, one of the organizers of Thursday’s event, says 550 people registered online to take part in the Dartmouth dip.
Organizers cut out a large rectangle of thick lake ice to make a pool area where dozens of dippers could submerge at a time….