Chill in downtown Royal Oak at the annual Winter Blast

ROYAL OAK — Winter is not over, and the Winter Blast is going to prove it in downtown Royal Oak in February.

Hosted by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, patrons can expect live music, free ice skating, ice sculptures, a zip line, food trucks and the addition of a medieval fair.

The event will be taking place Feb. 2-4 in and around Centennial Commons and the Royal Oak city center.

This event is literally based off the winter weather, according to event producer Jon Witz.

“We’re going to be working with Mother Nature,” he said. “If it’s cold enough before the event, not only will we make a ski hill, but we’ll add a tubing run, so you might see that pop up.”

On the other hand, if the weather turns out to be warmer than expected, Witz said that the festival could substitute skiing and tubing for carnival rides.

The Winter Blast began in Detroit and moved to Royal Oak in 2022.

“I would say I think the festival was growing with our new home in Royal Oak. We’ve been able to deliver pure winter fun with free admission,” he said.

The event will showcase many different activities, but a unique activity coming to this year’s blast will be the medieval fantasy event hosted by Rick Faire Activities.

Witz said the decision to bring a Renaissance theme to the Winter Blast was due to inspiration from Winter at Valade, in Detroit, where he saw some medieval characters and how much people enjoyed them.

Rick Faire Activities is a personal business, run by Rick Smith, who with friends hosts events such as this one to entertain adults and children.

At the Winter Blast, Smith is going to be setting up a Renaissance-style town, including bringing horses to the event, which will be used in fully armored knight games, and people will be able to participate in quests.

The horses and knights will also be available for photo opportunities, and knights will talk about the history of knighthood.

“The quest activity is an all-ages interactive scavenger hunt,” Smith said.

“There’s going to be signage to find the quest master. ... The quest master sets up the story of what we’re doing for this event, and with that they’re going to be given a scroll of information to go through and complete their adventure.”

Smith will be bringing some of his best-known cast members from the Michigan Renaissance Festival, which will, according to him, encourage some “die-hard Rennies to show up.” Some might even be in costume.

Ice sculptures are another element to this event, and according to Ice Creations owner Chad Harston, there will be around six to eight pieces for people to enjoy.

Coming from Ohio, the Ice Creations team plans to create some fantastic sculptures for the event.

One of the biggest pieces will be one centered around the recent success of the University of Michigan football team.

“We’re going to do a big University of Michigan display,” Harston said. “It’s going to be about 8 feet high, so 15 to 20 blocks of ice.”

If the Detroit Lions have a successful outcome throughout the next few weeks, they plan to have a giant Detroit Lions display up for the ice show too.

Witz is particularly hopeful for this.

“We might make a 30-block Detroit Lion sculpture. If the Lions are heading to the Super Bowl during Winter Blast weekend, you will be seeing one of the biggest lions on ice you have ever seen,” he said.

They already have some Honolulu-blue lights ready to go if that is the case.

The Winter Blast will be held 4-11 p.m. Friday Feb. 2, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Feb. 3 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 4.

For more information on the Winter Blast, visit winterblast.com.