Revelers go all out for Sea Isle City Polar Bear costume contest
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
The Fanta Girls, all from Philadelphia, get ready for the costume contest that preceded Saturday’s Polar Bear Plunge in Sea Isle City. From left are Steve, also known as Raquel; Dan, also called Nina; Brian, aka Kali; and Kyle, who misspelled his own name until his friends reminded him it was Leelee.
SEA ISLE CITY — For hundreds of people, one particular Saturday in mid-February is for braving winter weather, putting on a swimsuit and racing into — and back out of — a cold ocean during Sea Isle City’s annual Polar Bear Plunge.
For others, it’s all about the costumes.
A costume contest draws individuals and groups large, medium and small, some returning year after year angling for prizes and adulation of the audience gathered in the big tent outside La Costa Lounge.
This past Saturday, Feb. 15, there were green army men complete with a tank, an Elvis impersonator with a coterie of jailbirds performing “Jailhouse Rock” behind makeshift bars, a trio of guys wearing cardboard green avocado facades with cutouts that allowed their beer bellies to poke through and “The Bad Boys of Scotland” in their kilts.
The first to arrive were The Fanta Girls, er, guys.
An hour before the contest started, when the tent was mostly empty except for the workers stocking multiple temporary bars, four men arrived wearing wigs, tight cropped tops that bared their midriffs, short skirts, sneakers and fake fur leggings. Three were clean-shaven, but all had their bottles of Fanta soda, just like in the television commercials.
The Fanta Girls, all from Philadelphia, included, Steve, known as Raquel; Dan, also called Nina; Brian, aka Kali; and Kyle, who misspelled his own name until his friends reminded him it was Leelee. “We’ll cut that mistake in post,” he laughed.
Why dress up like the Fanta Girls?
“It’s really just the appeal to the people, what they want to see,” Leelee said. “They’ve told us year after year that this is what they want from us. And honestly, we’re happy to provide.”
When it was pointed out to Leelee that unlike his fellow Fanta Girls, he had a beard, he was not amused.
“Well, I thank you to bring out my imperfections because really it is nice to highlight them for the people. They want us to be ourselves out here and that’s really what we like to bring for them. It’s candid, candid persona. That’s the best way to put it,” he said.
Kali chose his particular tight orange outfit through “a lot of shopping. My girlfriend did all the work and I sat by and supported her and her decisions for my appeal.” He also sheepishly acknowledged that the overall idea of the Fanta Girls was his.
“We just like to feel pretty,” Nina laughed. “It’s the one day of the year we get to feel pretty.”
“This is my creation,” he said of his outfit. “Actually, Hanna helped us out quite a bit with our stylings. She’s our do-er and our visionary.”
Hanna, as the creative design genius, said she couldn’t take credit for the Fanta idea, “but I can take credit for the vision and the execution.”
Would going into the ocean without much protection from the cold make them feel they are about to do some self-harm?
“Maybe a little, I’m not going to lie to you,” Raquel said. “It’s been cold in the past years and it’s going to be cold today.
“This will be our fifth year,” he added. “We started out doing different characters from one actor, so we did Will Ferrell, Robin Williams, Mike Myers, and we won the first year, but didn’t win the second two years, so we tried to do something different. Last year … we all dressed up as the Queen of England and we had a few royal guards, but this year we’re going all in on the Fanta Girls, because everybody wanna Fanta — don’t you wanna?” he said, echoing the slogan from the soda commercials and drawing laughs from his compatriots.
“There’s the soundbite,” a colleague said, before they went back to adjusting their wigs and skirts, getting ready for small stage.
While the four Philadelphia guys glammed up for their routine, Moms Day Out went the opposite route, hoping for some repeat success in the costume contest.
Chrissy Benner and her friends Meghan Murphy, Shana Judd, Lindsay Bickleman and Lauren Holliday did their dowdiest best with mom jeans, sweaters and sensible shoes.
“Every mom needs a day out,” Benner said. “We’re tired. We’re very tired. The husbands are gone and we’re going out to drink wine coolers all day long. Because it’s five o’clock somewhere.”
She and her fellow “moms” said they have been the reigning champs of the contest since 2015 in various categories, taking the overall prize the first year for being Katy Perry and the Super Bowl halftime show, then they won three times as a middle-sized group and once as a small group.
Benner lives in Sea Isle and the rest live in the Philly area.
“We’re visiting,” one of her friends said, “but we’re tired so we need a day out. I have six kids at home.”
Jessica Aquilone was the front half of Slinky Dog, part of the large group entry “Toy Story.”
“Every year we try to go bigger and better and this is where we’re at this year,” Aquilone said, noting they won prizes the past two years, including Best in Show. “Last year we were Monopoly and the year before we were Star Wars. We always need a big group because there are a lot of us, as you can see.”
There were at least 15 members of the “Toy Story” group, including a few green army men, Buzz Lightyear, aliens and Woody.
They all were planning on going into the water after the contest but depending on the character, they may or may not wear their costumes for the Polar Bear Plunge. “We try to as much as we can,” she said.
Her Slinky Dog sidekick was attached to her hind end with what appeared to be metal dryer exhaust tubing. Queried on whether that attachment would save them both in the chilly water, she said, “I’m hoping so. I’m hoping he keeps me alive. It’s a little cold, but we’ll see.”
