"To see the faces of the kids as they come down the tubes in the tube
run -- it's really gratifying to see that much happiness," says David
VanderVeen.
He's talking about the event he coordinates:
Fire & Ice, Oakland County's premiere winter festival, which returns for its
fourth year Friday, January 28 through Sunday, January 30 in downtown
Rochester.
The free festival (yes, you read that right) expanded this year to Sunday to give the community a third day to enjoy some snowy winter fun. And with ever-growing audience numbers (20,000 the second year, 30,000 in 2010 and 40,000 visitors expected this year), it's clear Fire & Ice has become one of Oakland County's best-loved cold-weather rituals.
"It began as a quality of life initiative," he remembers. "The idea was our County Executive's, L. Brooks Patterson -- he's putting an emphasis on quality of life in Oakland with the residents, the citizens, its employees. And we had a lot of other events around the year. We had nothing that really embraced the wonderful winter that Michigan has."
If you're looking to embrace the snowy season, Fire & Ice Festival has wrapped its arms around a bevy of activities designed for families to enjoy fitness and fun in these chilly climes. Active residents can partake in ice skating (bring your own skates!), a 250 ft. tube sledding run, horse-drawn carriage rides, snowshoeing and some speedy adventures on Fire & Ice's very own dogsled sleighs.
"It's a family event, and you see the kids partake in these different activities," VanderVeen says. "For example, snowshoeing ... not everybody has had an opportunity to snowshoe before. Or how many people do you know who have taken a dogsled ride?"
Plus there's plenty to watch: broomball demonstrations (that's a version of hockey played with shoes), figure skating performances courtesy of Onyx Ice Arena, and ice sculptures in the streets.
A heated Taste Fest and beer tent will serve up warm beverages and there's also a contest to find Rochester's best-tasting soup, a play on summer's chili cook-offs.
"If you're out in 24 degrees, 23 degree temperatures, it's nice to go in, warm your hands, get something warm to drink," VanderVeen says.
But with all these activities centering around Ice, we'd be remiss in not mentioning all of the Fire. Rochester's signature holiday display, The Big Bright Light Show, will return during the festival. Downtown Rochester's buildings will be covered in more than 1.5 million points of glimmering holiday lights, which will be lit nightly.
Winter fireworks, sponsored by Soave Enterprises and HOUR Media, will also return after darkness falls. VanderVeen describes the colors of the fireworks reflecting off the white winter snow as a dazzling sight. "If you haven't seen fireworks at night in the wintertime, that's a real highlight," he says. "Come on out and see it, you won't regret it."
Fire & Ice Festival is produced jointly by Oakland County, the Rochester DDA, the cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills, not to mention a lot of help from
Oakland County Parks and Recreation.
For more information on Fire & Ice Fest 2011, visit
here.
Schedule of EventsFriday5:00 - 8:00 pm: RAYA Spaghetti Dinner
6:00 – 9:00 pm: Toys R Ice! Ice Sculpture Show
Marshmallow-Roasting
Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
TasteFest & Beer Tent
Tube-Sledding Run
Ice-Carving Demonstration
Free Horse-Drawn Trolley Rides
6:00 pm - Midnight: The Big, Bright Light Show
7:50 – 8:00 pm: Opening Ceremony
8:00 pm: Soave Enterprises LLC Fireworks
9:00 pm: TasteFest Closes
Saturday10:00 am – 9:00 pm: Toys R Ice! Ice Sculpture Show
Marshmallow-Roasting
TasteFest & Beer Tent
Tube-Sledding Run
10:00 am - 11:00 am: Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
10:00 am – 6:00 pm: Dogsled Demos and Rides
Snow Shoeing & Cross Country Skiing
Geo-Cache Scavenger Hunt
11:00 - 11:40 am: Broom Ball Demonstrations
11:45 am - 12:45 pm: Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
12:45 - 1:05 pm: Broom Ball Demonstrations
1:00 - 4:00 pm: Free Horse-Drawn Trolley Rides
1:10 - 9:00 pm: Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
4:00 - 8:00 pm: RAYA Spaghetti Dinner
6:00 pm - Midnight: The Big, Bright Light Show
7:50 – 8:00 pm: Recognition Ceremony
8:00 pm: Hour Detroit Fireworks
9:00 pm: TasteFest Closes
Sunday9:00 am - 12:30 pm: RAYA Pancake Breakfast
11:00 am - 4:00 pm: Toys R Ice! Ice Sculpture Show
Marshmallow-Roasting
Soup-Off & Beer Tent
Tube-Sledding Run
11:00 am - Noon: Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
Noon - 12:30 pm: Onyx Figure Skating Exhibition
12:30 - 4:00 pm: Ice Skating – Bring Your Own Skates!
3:00 pm: Closing Ceremony
4:00 pm: Event Ends
6:00 pm - Midnight: The Big, Bright Light Show
Ashley C. Woods is the
Oakland County Prosper editor and a whiz on skates. Send her a message
here.
Photo of family enjoying warming station courtesy of Jose Juarez | The Oakland Press
All other photos courtesy Fire & Ice Fest, Oakland County