Hip in Detroit's Picks for the Weekend: February 18-20

Friday, February 18th - Suck It Suicide Fundraiser @ Small's: Suck It Suicide is a great non-profit in the area that focuses on suicide prevention and helps families and friends when they lose a loved one to suicide. This Friday night, two great bands will be performing at Small's to help raise funds for SIS. The lineup includes TtebiT and Vazum, plus DJs Pleasure Kitten and Aaron Hingst will be providing the tunes before and between the bands. Cover for the show is $10, with the money being split 50/50 between SIS and the bands. Suck It Suicide will be on hand selling merch and answering questions about all things suicide and mental health support and they will have a donation bucket if you want to throw a few bucks more in to help the cause. Doors open at 8 p.m. and 18+ are welcome. 

Friday, February 18th - S.N.A.F.U. Album Release Show @ The Sanctuary: S.N.A.F.U. is celebrating the release of their new album Exile//Banishment at The Sanctuary with Wraith, MRSA, and Bone Folder Friday night! The new album is out now and will be available at the show. You can also give it a listen and order a copy on their Bandcamp here. Cover is $15 and all ages are welcome. You can purchase tickets in advance here. 

Saturday, February 19th - The Putz @ Parts & Labor: Head downriver to Parts & Labor in Melvindale Saturday night because The Putz will be in town! Joining them are Norcos Y Horchata and Lily Livers. Cover is $10, doors open at 8 p.m., and 18+ are welcome. Parts & Labor has been hosting some really good shows lately, so keep this bar/venue on your radar!

Friday, February 18th - Sunday, February 19th - Winter Blast: Winter Blast is the latest festival to pack up and move to Downtown Royal Oak. The festival will feature ice sculptures, food trucks, ice skating, live music, and more. Admission is free. Check out the music lineup for the weekend here. 

~C

Everything You Want to Know About Winter Blast

This weekend, Detroit will host it's 14th annual Winter Blast. This event was originally created to bring people downtown when the Super Bowl came to town, but everyone loved the family-friendly event so much that Quicken Loans decided to make it a tradition. The company closes down a huge section of downtown and hosts a variety of free and low cost events that everyone can enjoy. It's a great way to get out and do something during the slowest time of the year.

 

The Winter Blast takes place in and around Campus Martius and Cadillac Square. This year's event will run from 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Sunday and there are lots of things that the whole family can enjoy. This includes free ice skating at the ice rink in Campus Martius ($5 to rent skates), an Ice Garden at Cadillac Square, live music on multiple stages (full lineup here), and a variety of food trucks, including A Taste of Nawlins, Baked Delicious, Mr. Deep Fried, Chick A D-Fried Chicken,Crepe De Twah-Sweet & Savory Crepes, Detroit Panzerotti, Imperial Ferndale, Mercurio Foods , Niko's Gyros, Soaring Eagle Cuisine Machine and The Lobster Truck. There will also be fire pits to warm your hands with and $3 s'more kits available for purchase. You can also purchase a pass to zip-line down Woodward Avenue for $10 a person or you can spend $3 to quickly drop down a pitch-black tube slide at 22 MPH on a 40-degree angle. You can even get fitted for ski or snowboard gear and go down a beginner-level slope with the help of Mt. Brighton Ski and Ride School instructors.

There are multiple parking garages in the area and some street parking if you are able to find it.  Make sure you download the parking app and pay to park, you do not need a $45 ticket to ruin your day. Follow Winter Blast here to keep up with future updates on the event.

~S

The Winter Blast Kicks Off This Weekend

Photo borrowed from the Winter Blast

In 2005, the City of Detroit welcomed The Super Bowl to our door step. It was also the first year that Quicken Loans brought the Winter Blast to the heart of Downtown Detroit. Over the last 14 years, the annual event has brought thousands of people into the city to celebrate the coldest time of the year. So many people, that they deiced to extend the fun over four different weekends starting this week. 

The Winter Blast festival will kick off this Friday, January 19th and continue through the second weekend of February. This first weekend will feature free ice skating at Campus Martius, Ice Sculptures, marshmallow roasting, family activities, and a food truck rally that will feature eats from Beans & Cornbread, Taste of Nawlins, Chick a D, and Imperial. Saturday night will also feature live music from some of Movement's best DJs.

Over the next few weeks the festival will feature tons of local music as well as a variety of different food vendors. You can see the full schedule of activities here. Winter Blast will take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as on this Monday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The fun starts at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on the weekends. You can click here to find out more about local parking and click here to find out more about how to pick up coupons for a free hot chocolate when you visit.

~S

Have a Blast at Campus Martius this Weekend!

This weekend the Winter Blast will return to Campus Martius Park for three fun days! The event is happening this Friday thru Sunday, January 20th-22nd and will feature live music, ice skating, marshmallow roasting, a food truck rally, a zip line, ice carvings, and even an ice bar.

It should be no surprise that our favorite part of this festival is the music. This year there will be three indoor stages and there will also be DJs playing on stage at the ice bar. The DJs that will are on deck for this event include DJ Thornstryker on Friday from 8-11 p.m and DJ Ryan Richards on Saturday from 8-11. There is also a long list of bands and musicians performing throughout the weekend. Some of the acts that stood out to us are Zander Michigan, The Gasoline Gypsies, The Social Bandits, Stone Clover, The Native Howl and Nina & The Buffalo Riders. Most of the music will actually be spread across 2 stages, then the third stage will host family entertainers and events. The Pistons and their dance team will be there, as well as LEGO® Batman, Robin and Batgirl from The Lego Batman Movie. There will also be special presentations throughout the weekend from the Michigan Science Center. For a full list of musicians playing, set times, and family fun events, click here.

Admission to the festival will only cost you 3 cans of food or $3, which will go to Matrix Human Services. Children under 3 get info the event for free. However, if you also plan on stopping at the Auto Show this weekend, you can get into the blast for free with your NAIAS ticket stub from the same day.

Winter Blast kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday and is open until 11 p.m. On Saturday, the hours are 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. and Sunday the festival will run from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. For more information on this event head over to WinterBlast.com.

~C

Fun in the Snow and Cold at The Winter Blast This Weekend!

It's safe to say that by now we are all over this Winter weather. We have had more  snow this year than I remember seeing in my lifetime and the extremely cold temperatures actually make your face and fingers feel like they are going to fall off. Well this weekend the air is still going to be quite chilly, but we have found the perfect way for you to finally get out and enjoy it, The Motown Winter Blast.

Now being referred to as the Meridian Winter Blast, this festival is in its ninth year as it kicked off in 2005. The event is full of family fun, but also features some good Detroit food and some great Detroit music. Some of the attractions for the family include a 200 Foot Snow Slide, Snow Shoeing, Bonfires for Marshmallow Roasting, Free Ice Skating, Sled Dogs, and Ice Sculptures. On the adult end of things, there is a Bar Blast pub crawl on Saturday night with a free shuttle between bars in Detroit and music all 3 days and nights. Some of the great acts you can catch include, Blaire Alise & The Bombshells, Kaleido, After Dark Amusement Park, Thornetta Davis, Brittney Stoney, and The Infatuations. Those are only a few off of the long list that you can check out here. Definitely something for everybody.

This year there is a charge for admission to the Winter Blast, but it isn't much at all and it goes to a good cause. The Blast has teamed up with Matrix Human Services to help out those in need. To get in to the event you can either donate 3 cans of food, 1 children's book, or $2 that will go to Matrix to help those less fortunate. The Winter Blast runs Friday, February 7th through Sunday, February 9th and things kick off around 11 a.m. every day. Sunday's temperature is supposed to reach a whopping 24 degrees too! So you can head out early in the weekend and enjoy the bitter cold or wait 'til the heat wave on Sunday. Either way, make sure you head out to this fun event right in the heart of the City at Campus Martius Park.

~C