Attendees at last year’s Winter Blast in Royal Oak have fun on the large snow slide. The slide at this year’s event will be 25 feet in height and 200 feet long.
By: Mike Koury | Royal Oak Review | Published January 25, 2023
ROYAL OAK — Winter Blast Royal Oak soon will be making its return to the city for its second year.
The second annual Winter Blast Royal Oak was originally scheduled to take place from Friday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, Feb. 5. However, an announcement Jan. 25 moved the dates to Friday, Feb. 17, to Sunday, Feb. 19.
"With a lot of thought & consideration, we have made the decision to reschedule Winter Blast due to the frigid weather expected. This is an awesome show & we want to make sure it's warm enough for everyone to safely enjoy it!" a Jan. 25 post on the Winter Blast Twitter account states.
Winter Blast will be mainly located at Centennial Commons and around The Rink at Royal Oak, which is between Main and Troy streets and 11 Mile Road and Third Street.
Winter Blast will feature a host of activities for attendees, including the ability to ski and snowboard in the downtown with help from Mount Brighton Ski Resort, a sponsor of the event. There will be a snow slide that is 25 feet in height and 200 feet long, and visitors will be able to ice skate at the downtown ice rink.
Event Producer Jon Witz said Centennial Commons will be the center of the festival thanks to the ice rink’s location, as well as the park being the new home of ice sculptures.
The themes and designs for the ice sculptures include Detroit sports, sleigh horses and a tribute to the armed forces.
“The first year in Royal Oak, the park was just kind of there in the background, and this year it will be completely interactive and utilized,” Witz said. “I think people will really enjoy what will be is essentially a new layout of the festival with the rink being in the park, and again you’ll be able to stand at a certain point in the festival and see people ice skating, flying down a zip line, going down an inner tube on a 200-foot snow slide and then snowboarding, all from just walking on Third Street. I just think it’s really a unique winter celebration that embraces the winter, and I think this is a year … Royal Oak will reach its potential with a full presentation of the festival.”
The festival also will have live music, a kids zone, a marshmallow roasting station and a variety of food trucks.
Winter Blast previously had a longtime home in Detroit, but the first edition in Royal Oak was held in 2022. Witz said there is apprehension when making a move like that, but Royal Oak confirmed last year it was a great venue for special events with its turnout.
“One thing we also saw in Royal Oak just from last year, and we’re hoping for the same, was there was a great interaction between patrons and local businesses, and we really saw wait times at restaurants and just a nice positive impact,” he said. “We’re hoping that dynamic continues. … I think it could be something truly special in the city.”
City Manager Paul Brake felt the same way, stating that the inclusion of the ice rink this year will make the event even bigger.
“The ice rink — over the time that it’s been here — has brought a lot of people to the downtown area,” he said. “I think it’s a good preview of what will be happening the first weekend in February. Last year, we didn’t have anything in the Centennial Commons.”
Witz believes there will be an increase in attendance for the second event in Royal Oak, though it could be dependent on the weather.
“I think we could end up doing 75,000 to 100,000 people over three days, which would be at the high end of Winter Blast attendance even in the Detroit times,” he said. “We’re hopeful that everything holds and people choose to come out and have a great time.”
Winter Blast is free to the public. The hours for the event are 4-11 p.m. Feb. 17, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Feb. 18 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 19. For more information, visit www.winterblast.com.