It was my 8th year attending the Epiphany Celebration in Tarpon Springs. This year it was very, very cold. We had blankets, wore warm coats, took chairs and hot chocolate. We even had marshmallows so compared to most of the spectators we were warm and toasty as well as comfortable. We even found a great vantage point in the sunshine. It was a fun day. I even had Chicken Soulvaki for lunch.
Below is an excerpt from the press coverage.
TARPON SPRINGS, FL Dozens of teenagers plunged into some very cold water Wednesday afternoon as part of the decades-old Epiphany celebration.
In the end only one boy, 16-year-old Dimitrios Kalogiannis of New Port Richey, ended up with the cross. It took the Gulfport High student less than 20 seconds to retrieve it from Spring Bayou.
His dad dove for the cross when he was a boy in Greece, but never got it.
Today's dive, which was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., happened 30 minutes earlier due to weather. The frigid temperatures had some voicing concern for the divers' welfare. At last word, everyone was fine.
According to tradition, Dimitrios receives a year of good luck for finding the cross.