PHOTOS BY MICAH GREEN / GULF COAST MEDIA

The Flora-Bama hosted its 39th-annual Polar Bear Dip into the Gulf on Sunday to kick off the new year. Thousands donned costumes, from Elvis to diapered babies to characters from the Wizard of Oz, and ran together into the 60 degree water at noon on the dot. The tradition was started by Flora-Bama owner Pat McClellan, a Minnesota native, who saw it as a way to draw people to the iconic beachside bar on a historically slow business day. Those who brave the water get a free draft beer and a plate of food full of all the New Years Day staples.