ENTERTAINMENT

Winter Blast returns to Campus Martius in January

Melody Baetens
The Detroit News

Detroit’s family-friendly festival, the Meridian Winter Blast, will return to downtown Detroit next month with three days of chilly, outdoor fun.

The event, which is presented by Quicken Loans, will be at Campus Martius Jan. 26-28 this year, to coincide with the last weekend of the North American International Auto Show.

Those with a NAIAS admission stamp can get into Winter Blast for free and skip the $3 admission fee. Those donating three non-perishable food items to Matrix Human Services can also bypass the admission fee. The donations can be made at select Chemical Bank locations Jan. 17-26.

Besides food, drink and live music – staples of Campus Martius Park – Winter Blast attractions include skiing and snowboarding hills presented by Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain and the return of a 30-foot-high slide, ice skating, and a zipline.

The skiing hills are a new feature this year, as is a polar plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics of Michigan. Anyone can take a dip into a pool of freezing cold water on the south side of Campus Martius.

To sign up for that, or for more info on the Winter Blast, visit winterblast.com. The festival will be open 4-11 p.m. Jan. 26, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Jan. 27 and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Jan. 28.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens