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For the annual New Year’s Day swim, hundreds of people assemble on the boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue to take the plunge. Hundreds of others observe nearby. Ask swimmers why they do this, and the answers are varied. Some say they do it to raise money for charity. (Neither swimmers nor observers pay a fee, but a donation to the club’s partner, Camp Sunshine [www.campsunshine.org], a getaway in Maine for sick children and their families, is encouraged). Others go for it on a dare. Still others believe there are health benefits to a dip in frigid waters. Aficionados claim that an icy plunge helps boost the immune system to ward off a cold, the flu, or relieve the symptoms of chronic maladies such as arthritis. Whatever their reasons may be, one thing all the participants can agree on is that it’s an experience they’ll never forget.

Daredevils and cold-water enthusiasts rush the waters off Coney Island on New Year’s Day.

The Polar Bear Club recommends that in addition to your bathing suit, swimmers bring a towel, cozy after-swim footwear, dry warm clothing, and a friend (for photos and post-swim assistance, if needed). I’d add a pre-swim discussion with your doctor and a thermos of hot liquid to this list of requirements. For first-timers it is usually suggested that you turn off your brain, take a breath, and go quickly. Be prepared for a cold-water shock that can leave you breathless. Upon surfacing in the waves, some participants splash around a while in the chilly water, though more often than not, they hightail right back to the shore. If there happens to be snow on the beach, you could always take a quick roll in it for an added adrenaline rush before dressing.

In addition to the swim on New Year’s Day, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club invites potential members to join them for swims at 1:00pm any Sunday between November and April, after which they may start the official membership process. Bernard MacFadden founded the Polar Bear Club in 1903 and the Coney Island group claims to be the oldest of its type in the country. The L Street Brownies of South Boston can date their existence back to 1904, but they continue to search for earlier documentation. —LF

Coney Island Polar Bear Club ( 917/533-3568;www.polarbearclub.org).

When to Go: Sun, Nov–Apr and every New Year’s Day.

JFK (17 miles) or LaGuardia Airport (22 miles).

$$ Excelsior Hotel, 45 W. 81st St. ( 800/368-4575 or 212/362-9200; www.excelsiorhotelny.com). $$$ Le Parker Meridien, 118 W. 57th St. ( 800/543-4300 or 212/245-5000; www.parkermeridien.com).

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Mardi Gras & Jazz

Partying in the Streets

New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.

“Throw some to me,” you shriek to the costume-clad revelers on the Mardi Gras parade float passing slowly by. Batting away other outstretched hands, you manage to snag one of the bead necklaces tossed into the crowd. The thrill of Mardi Gras, the culmination of two months of Carnival celebrations, reaches its apex as the parades make their way down the streets of New Orleans. From the masquerading partiers all about town to the carousers on Bourbon Street to the all-consuming pleading for “throws,” at parades, Mardi Gras is festivity from start to finish, with plenty of opportunity for thrills over the course of the celebration.

Mary Herczog, author of Frommer’s New Orleans, is an expert on “throws.” She has both tossed throws from a float and been in the crowds—she calls the fanaticism surrounding the trinkets “bead lust.” As she explains, “First you stand there passively. All around you the strands fly thick and fast. You catch a few. ‘Hmm,’ you think, ‘they look kind of good around my neck.’ You reach more aggressively as the strands fly overhead. ‘Wait. That guy/cute girl/kid got a really good strand! How come I’m not getting any like that!’ Now you find yourself shrieking ‘Throw me something, Mister.’ You jump. You wail. You plead. You think, ‘This is really stupid. It’s a 5¢ piece of plastic—oh, look a really