This year’s Special Olympics Polar Pop, Freezin’ for a Reason, lasted through the month of February. It took the place of the annual Polar Plunge, which could not be held due to coronavirus concerns. Instead, participants signed up and popped water balloons over their heads. This took many forms, with participants across the state finding different ways to “pop.” You can donate to the Pop through March 12.

Featured here are two different local Pop experiences.

Brittany Thayer, her mother Karri Moren and her father Christopher Moren (who is also the mayor of Tatamy), gathered with her rhythmic gymnastics coach Casey Skoglund in High Street Park in Tatamy for the Pop. Brittany smartly wore a full body swimsuit and a cap from her time swimming with Bethlehem Special Olympics.

To her surprise, her father also joined her in the Pop, and Brittany got to pop a water balloon over his head. Afterward, they dried off with a big blue Special Olympics towel.

Brittany is 32 years old and has been competing with Bethlehem Special Olympics for a decade. She has a physical disability that affects her eyesight. She is blind in one eye, has no side vision, and a fall or blow to the head could cause permanent blindness. She hopes in the future to become a kindergarten teacher.

Brittany was a co-emcee for the broadcast of the Polar Pop ceremonies and videos, which streamed on Mixcloud Feb. 27.

The Colonial IU Parent Support T.E.A.M. (Together,Educating, Advocating, Moms dads and families) met at a parking lot at Bangor HS for a group pop. Everyone wore masks and their black and green T.E.A.M T-shirts. They were joined by a “polar bear,” the unofficial Pop mascot.

After taking some photos, parents donned their T.E.A.M. shirts. There was a brief discussion about wearing clear ponchos, but it was decided parents would sit on the ponchos instead. In the downtime between picture taking and the pop, children served by Colonial IU 20 and their siblings, played in the snow.

Parents sat in a line with the polar bear behind them. Then the children were called from playing and were lined up behind their parents. The balloons and skewers to pop them were handed to the parents. Once everyone was ready, the parents passed the skewers to the youth behind them, held their balloons over their heads, and on a count, the children popped the balloons.

Sammy Campbell dressed as the Polar Bear, and when Sammy tired of wearing the costume, parent Jason Huggan stepped in. Jason and his wife Nikki have two children in the IU. Hayden and her brother Gavin both have mitochondrial disease.

“It was amazing to see everyone and be with friends to raise money for Special Olympics,” Nikki said of the event. “Watching all of the kids playing - especially when my kids are very isolated was so special.” (At the Polar Plunge, younger children do not usually get to participate in the river entry).

Parent Rachael Higgins agreed with Nikki about having the children more involved.

“I’d say a good memory I have is seeing the athletes and siblings playing in the snow together having so much fun. It’s been a while since COVID started,” said Rachel whose son Gage is 16 and is autistic.

Parent Judith Saccento Wildrick agreed.

“I love participating together as a team to support the Special Olympics,” she said. “We may have missed the plunge due to the pandemic, but I loved that our children were able to participate. I know my guy loved being able to participate by popping the balloon over my head, and that made it special to both of us.“

Judith’s children, Benjamin and Jaidyn, both have autism and other diagnoses.

“It was a great experience for my daughter and I because kids were involved, in Polar Pop and enjoyed themselves so much,” said parent Virginia Biancamano. “I love that the T.E.A.M. once again came together to fundraise for such a wonderful organization!”

Virginia’s daughter, Isabella Biancamano, participated on behalf of her brother, Robert Biancamano, who has autism.

T.E.A.M. leader Caterina Renner Campbell reflected on the Pop.

“We have 10 registered Polar Plunge/Pop team members, which is the same number as last year. So far this year we raised $2,607. Last year for the plunge, we raised somewhere around $4,300. We had most of our team register right before the Pop this year, so we are anticipating additional donations as they see our photos and video. I enjoyed participating in both, and I think they should keep both options available for future Special Olympic events.

“The anticipation leading up to the Polar Plunge was scary but exciting and the feeling of accomplishment our T.E.A.M. felt after the plunge is something I will never forget. On the other hand, we really had fun with the Polar Pop this year. Our T.E.A.M. laughed and screamed so much. We truly made some great memories together. For the future, I’m going to keep trying to connect more IU20 families in hopes that our Polar T.E.A.M. will grow each year and be able to raise more money for the Special Olympics.”

The Polar Pop ceremony broadcast should be viewable on the Northampton and Bethlehem Special Olympics Facebook pages.

So far, Special Olympics Pennsylvania has raised over $820,000 through the Polar Pop. Donations to Special Olympics through the Polar Pop continue through March 12. Brittany’s link is http://www.classy.org/fundraiser/3092601

The Parent Support T.E.A.M. is open to any parent with a child served by Colonial Intermediate Unit 20. The link for the Colonial IU20 Parent Support T.E.A.M. is http://www.classy.org/team/336997.