Area residents are invited to take a chilly plunge into the waters of Smith Lake to help raise money for the Friends of the Public Libraries of Cullman County.

The Turkey Plunge will be taking place on Nov. 21 at the beach at Smith Lake Park, and all money raised from the event will go to the Friends of the Libraries’ mission of fundraising for the county’s library branches.

Registration will cost $15 — and $10 for any additional family member — and be payable on the day of the event. Everyone who is taking the plunge is also encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item that will be donated to the Cullman Caring for Kids Food Bank. 

Each entrant will also receive a raffle ticket for $25 gift certificates to Warehouse Discount Groceries and Southern Eats. 

Signups begin at 9:15 a.m., and a gobble will be the signal for everyone to take the plunge at 10:15 a.m., said Friends of the Libraries board member Renee Welsh.

“It’s a fun way for everybody to end the year while supporting the mission of the Friends and a really great organization in Caring for Kids that supports the county,” she said.

Welsh said the Friends of the Library are currently looking for a “Gobblermeister” to make the turkey call to signal the plunge, and they should have an announcement of the leader of the festivities by the end of the week.

She said anyone who attends the plunge is welcome to dress up as a turkey and while they have the option of making a full leap into the water or taking a longer swim, all they really have to do is get a little wet. 

“As long as your toe goes in the water, it counts,” she said. 

It’s a little too early to tell what the temperature is going to be on Nov. 21, but Welsh said she anticipates the water in the lake will be in the chilly range of 75-80 degrees.

Welsh said she is no stranger to taking a cold-water plunge, as she lives on Smith Lake and she and a few of her family members take a leap off their dock every Thanksgiving morning — and that annual tradition has begun to draw a crowd of its own. 

“We hoop and holler and now all of the neighbors that live on our slough come onto their porch and can’t wait,” she said. 

She said the Turkey Plunge will bring in more of the community to make their own leaps into the chilly water, and she will definitely be making the plunge alongside everyone else. 

“Absolutely I’m running in,” she said. “I’m plunging.”