KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- On your mark, get set.... plunge!

It's that time of year again, the sixth annual Polar Bear Plunge is taking place this Saturday, February 12th at Thousand Hills State Park.

It's been dubbed as the official party for winter and it raises money for a good cause.

"We've been working with Special Olympics for years in Kirksville," said Tim King with the Kirksville Police Department. "A few years ago when the first Polar Bear Plunge started down in south Missouri, it started to grow and everyone decided they wanted to do it so we actually had some officers that very first year go to south Missouri and plunged down there and that's kind of what got us started here," said King.

Over the years, the event has gotten bigger and bigger. In fact, they already have 167 people pre-registered and are expecting another 20-25 more to sign up on Saturday.

"Every year we've grown in the number of people that plunge and the amount of money raised as gone up as well. I think the first year we did right around $20,000 so we've gained $10, 000 in five years, that's pretty good I think," King said.

So why do they decide to hold the event in February?

"Generally this is the time of year when its colder and the ice is better and you know everyone is done with the holidays, so I think we get a better turnout than if we tried to do it in November and December with deer season and all the other things going on, we'd probably wouldn't get as good as a turnout that we do," said King.

The event will take place at the Thousand Hills State Park like it does every year, and anyone can join the festivities. Organizers just ask that participants pay the $50 registration fee.

So if you never done it before and want to try it, King says just think of it as taking a really long and really cold shower.

"We've all taken a cold shower, just imagine taking a cold shower that's ten times colder than it is and what you're doing is helping out a good cause so you're having fun and raising money for a good cause. You're doing something that you might never do again or you might get hooked and do it every year."

Registration is still open. Just click here to download the form.