Garrett County Special Olympics Dunk. This year’s winter season is far from over and in my mind we have a few more annual events left that help define what a special place we have here in Deep Creek Lake. It’s early February and we have snow flurries coming down at the moment. Tuesdays are always a great time on the slopes considering that the traffic has thinned out from the weekend. As we look ahead at the must-see events calendar, we have in our crosshairs the Deep Creek Dunk. This event takes place at DCL’s party hub, The Honi Honi Bar, and you can be sure that it will be standing room only, as always. People make their way by car, truck, snowmobiles, snowshoes, cross country skis, and I’ve even seen a lady pulling her children on a sled across the frozen lake. The event sponsors come in weeks ahead of time with chainsaws and other implements of destruction to cut out a huge area along the shoreline through the 1-2 foot lake ice to set the stage for the insanity. Dunk (not drunk as you may suspect!) participants get people to sponsor them ($50 per sponsor) and they literally bare all and jump into icy Deep Creek Lake to raise money for Maryland’s Special Olympics. Well, not bare all, but last year I did see a guy in Speedos with swim fins and a snorkel mask on, as painful as that may sound. That’s where this gets even more interesting…Aside from the body bearers, some people come dressed up in all kinds of unique, wacky, fun costumes which add even more enjoyment for spectators. Make the decision now; are you a dunker or a watcher? No matter what you do, don’t miss this exciting and fun event that revolves around raising money for a first class charity organization.
