TORONTO Air Max 90 Sale Online , Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of brave Torontonians on Thursday took an icy dip in Lake Ontario to kick off 2015 for a good reason.
Call them enthusiasts, call them crazy, but every year the Polar Bear Dip takes place in Canada on New Year's Day, when many take the occasion to indulge in some well-thought-of momentary insanity. In Toronto, the Toronto Polar Bear Club dip has entered its 10th year.
The dip took place at Toronto's Sunnyside Beach on Lake Ontario, one of North America's coldest lakes. More than 600 people arrived Air Max Sale Online , in all states of disrepair and in costumes, bringing a carnival-like atmosphere to a surreal event.
The temperature with wind chill was minus 12 degrees Celsius. The lake was beyond cold with the shoreline ice-encrusted. This is where some Dutch courage had to be found. A reason to partake in this icy folly was to have fun, test endurance and raise money for charity.
"As with all things, there are some rules that you need to be aware of," advised Keith Jolie, co-founder of the club.
"Preparing for the dip is easy. Bring water shoes or old running shoes you can wear in the water Nike Air Max 2018 Sale Clearance , or you'll be walking barefoot on the rocky lake bottom," he said.
"Also bring loose fitting warm clothes to put on right after the dip and wool socks. If your feet are warm, you'll be warm plus a blanket to stand on to get changed and a bunch of towels," he added.
So why did these super-humans decide to brave the elements? May Loo gave an insight into why.
"This is my fifth or sixth year, so this is lots of fun. This is to help raise money for Habitat for Humanity. This is a really great cause, getting shelter for the homeless people Nike Air Max 2017 Sale Clearance ," Loo told Xinhua.
Many supporters chimed in, claiming it was the best way to start 2015 and do some good. A trophy was presented to the highest fundraiser to mark the event's 10th anniversary. Toques and other memorabilia were given out as gifts.
"This is the 10th anniversary. We have the most people, over 600, the most money ever raised, over 70,000 dollars Nike Air Max 90 Sale Clearance , and this is going to be the best ever dip," said Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
Since 2005, the Toronto Polar Bear Club has hosted the event to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, which helps build simple, affordable and decent homes for families in need in the city. The club has so far raised over 200 Nike Air Max Sale Clearance ,000 Canadian dollars.
The event in Toronto is just one of many dips taking place across the country. One of the oldest and most established Polar Bear Dips takes place on Canada's west coast at Vancouver's English Bay, where they have been doing it since 1920.
On the periphery of Lake Ontario, other towns were also preparing for their Polar Bear swims. From Oakville in the west to Oshawa in the east, at least 80 miles of lake front have seen adventurous Canadians plunge into the polar waters to welcome Day 1 of 2015.
BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China will raise the retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Saturday, the country's top economic planner announced Friday.
This is the eighth increase this year. As international oil prices have increased Air Max 2018 Sale Clearance , the retail prices of gasoline and diesel will rise by 210 yuan (about 32 U.S. dollars) and 195 yuan (about 29 U.S. dollars) per tonne, respectively, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Under the current pricing mechanism, if international crude oil prices change by more than 50 yuan per tonne and remain at that level for 10 working days, the prices of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel in China are adjusted accordingly.
The NDRC has asked major Chinese oil companies, including China National Petroleum Corp. Air Max 2017 Sale Clearance , China Petrochemical Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp., to ensure stable supplies to the market.
Global crude prices rose marginally due to an expected increase in demand and falling production of OPEC, the NDRC said in a report.
The economic planner said it will closely monitor the effects of the current pricing mechanism and make changes in response to fluctuations in the global market.
ACCRA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Ghanaian soccer fans including president John Dramani Mahama filled the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday to witness a memorial match in honor of former Black Stars skipper Stephen Appiah.
Appiah joined other international stars to play in the one-off game to officially announce his retirement from active football after more than two decades of illustrious professional career.
The match between a select national side and Appiah XI made up of galaxy of stars such as Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, ex-Dutch international George Boateng, Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor Air Max 90 Sale Clearance , former Italian star Guiseppe Coluci and a host of others.
Appiah, known as 'Tornado', captained Ghana to its first-ever World Cup appearance in Germany in 2006 and was the leader of the Black Stars squad that came close to hitting a semifinal berth at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
From the sandy pitches at Indadfa park in Accra where his career was honed to the grassy green field in Turin, Italy, where his career blossomed, Appiah's story tells a great true story of a Ghanaian patriot who with nothing Air Max Sale Clearance , from nothing, rose to become a global icon, thanks to the power of football.
The former Juventus star said he was honored to represent Ghana both on and off the pitch.
Appiah who was capped 67 times for the Black Stars of which he managed to score 14 goals has been an aspiration to the entire Ghanaian youth and beyond.
by Stefania Fumo
VENICE, Italy, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The core theme of the China Pavilion at this year's Art Biennale in Venice is that individual acts of creation take place in a communal context that stretches across the dimensions of both space and time.<.