In addition to family gatherings, turkey dinners and football, Nantucket has another Thanksgiving tradition that you won’t see everywhere: The Annual Turkey Plunge, which benefits the Nantucket Atheneum Weezie Library for Children, the island’s public library.
With the event now in its eighth year, Turkey Plungers have been running around collecting sponsorship from friends, family and local businesses. This week on Thanksgiving morning, hundreds of participants of all ages will bravely dash down Children’s Beach and into the freezing Nantucket Harbor.
Participants are allowed to wear no more than a bathing suit and must go in AT LEAST up to their shoulders. The organizers also give out prizes for the best costumes.
You can watch a video of the Turkey Plunge from last year on The PlumTV Website. If you would like to make a donation or find a Plunger to sponsor, click here.
Learn more about the island of Nantucket, including houses on Nantucket from Windwalker Real Estate.
After the early evening parade, the restaurants and retail shops offer baskets of candy just outside their shops. As dusk casts its shadows on the quaint cobblestone streets of Nantucket Town, devils and hobos can be seen darting up and down Main Street and the side streets that in summer are filled with shoppers and diners. This is homegrown, small town enthusiasm at it finest.
During October the bogs are flooded and the cranberries float to the top after being shaken by machinery. Then the cranberries are corralled into an intense circle of crimson and are sent by conveyor into a large truck to be trucked off island. Each October, the Foundation hosts a Cranberry festival during the harvesting of the cranberries. Bog tours, music by local musicians, hay rides, catered lunch and cranberry products are all featured.
