WEBSTER, Mass. - The "Ice-Out Einstein" fundraiser is now in its 17th year in Webster.  

A mannequin, named Einstein, is dressed up and sitting on the dock near Lakeview Marine on Webster Lake, waiting to be placed on the ice. For a $5 ticket, a participant can predict the month, day, hour and minute the ice will melt in the spring and Einstein will fall in the water. 

"The ice right now is coming along slowly," said Steve Washburn, a member of the Ice Out Einstein committee. "We wait until we have a pretty good foundation then we move him out. We hook him up to a clock, so when he does go through, the cord separates and the clock stops, and we know what time. We also have a backup security camera, so if there’s any questions about that, the camera makes sure we can confirm the time he went through. “

The water never froze thick enough last year but in 2022, Einstein fell in on March 8 at 8:49 a.m. The fundraiser benefits the Webster Lake Association, Reconciliation House of Webster and the Webster Fire Department. 

"We use it for dive training, we use it for equipment for the guys for diving, boat equipment, pumps that kind of stuff,” said Webster Fire Chief Brian Hickey. “Everything that comes out of this fundraiser goes back into serving the lake and servicing the people who live on the lake and the town of Webster and the people who visit the lake on an annual basis."

Tickets can be bought online or in-person at Lakeview Marine, Point Breeze Restaurant or ProAutomotive until Feb. 19. If Einstein never makes it onto the ice, a drawing will decide a winner instead.