Fundraiser can help Friends of Hunting Island make 2024 as big as 2023
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Each year since the tradition began in 2009, except a year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of people descend the North Beach at Hunting Island State Park into the chilly Atlantic Ocean for the traditional Pelican Plunge.
According to Friends of Hunting Island (FOHI) President Linda Miller, a team of volunteers has been working feverishly behind the scenes to get ready for the 14th annual event January 1. And while 2023 was a record year – FOHI’s 30th, in fact – organizers are hoping for even more friends to share in this community event that kick off what Miller hopes is an even better new year.
“The Pelican Plunge is always a great event and a time for reflection for our team on what the organization has done and is going to do,” Miller said.
For the Plunge, FOHI has secured four food trucks. There will be music, hot chocolate and cookies, and prizes for the event’s traditional costume parade, led by none other than Hunting Island’s famous Pelican, who has been busy prepping the beach for just the right atmosphere, via social media.
For a new twist, Hunting Island State Park will host two hikes on New Years Day – a sunrise hike at 7 a.m. and another at 10 a.m. Those interested in hiking before plunging into the ocean should meet at the Nature Center.
Plungers should gather at the Lighthouse area on North Beach at noon. The Plunge actually goes off at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the Pelican Plunge are $10 per adult and $5 per child, with all donations going to Friends of Hunting Island, which supports the Hunting Island State Park in facilitating funding for key projects such as the recently renovated Nature Center at South Beach. Those brave enough can register for the Plunge at www.friendsofhuntingisland.com/pelican.
According to Miller, 2023 was a truly satisfying year to be a part of FOHI. The FOHI Sea Turtle Conservation Program set a Hunting Island record with 195 nests laid and more than 14,000 hatchlings sent out to sea. Lead by Director Beth Glass, the program had more than 200 volunteers “hit the beach to facilitate this highly coordinated project every day, in all weather environments.”
Then there was the Nature Center.
FOHI worked with S.C. Parks and Recreation to re-imagine and renovate the Hunting Island Nature Center. Work was started in March 2023 and completed in September. Under the critical eye of Construction Director Randal Brown and his volunteers, the project came in on time and under budget. “We have been excited to watch the children marvel at the 8-foot reptile wall and share in the educational exhibits that the SCPRT Interpretive Rangers use to share their wealth of knowledge with the community and visitors to Hunting Island,” Miller said.
In 2024, the Plunge will help fund the restoration of the 1875 First Order Fresnel Lens, housed in the Lighthouse, “which is in dire need of a new home where it can rest and show off all of its glory to the community,” Miller said.
The shining lens stands 10 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter and is made up of 290 glass prisms set in a bronze frame. It weighs just over a ton and has been with S.C. Parks and Recreation since 1961.
“First Order Fresnel lenses are extremely rare,” Miller said. “There are only 39 in the country, and Beaufort is the beneficiary of one of them,” Miller said.
FOHI has worked with the City of Beaufort to secure funding, grants, and to assist with the proposed work.
“We will have the privilege of working with Pender Brothers in Port Royal to create a new frame for the precious glass prisms in what will be an exact replica of the original piece,” Miller said. “Our goal is to house the new lens in a new exhibit space on the lighthouse compound.”
Money raised from the Plunge, in addition to membership fees from 2024, will help fund this work.
FOHI membership for 2024 is available for $60, which includes access to Hunting Island through Jan. 1, 2025, as well as volunteer opportunities. Visit friendsofhuntingisland.org/membership to join.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
Want To Go?
Who: Friends of Hunting Island
What: 14th annual Pelican Plunge
When: 1 p.m., Monday, Jan. 1, 2024
Where: Lighthouse area, Hunting Island State Park
Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children. All proceeds benefit the Friends of Hunting Island.
To register: Go to www.friendsofhuntingisland.com/pelican
Things to know: Arrive by noon; There will be foot trucks, music, hot chocolate, cookies, a costume parade, and prizes. There will also be two hikes – at 7 and 10 a.m. – starting from the Nature Center.
