DETROIT – After 17 years celebrating winter in Downtown Detroit, Winter Blast organizers announced today that they will not be hosting the 2022 event in Detroit due to funding challenges.
“We are grateful for the support of the City of Detroit and all of our past sponsors and partners who have helped make this winter experience in Detroit a successful, inclusive family-oriented festival for more than a decade, but due to time constraints caused by COVID and other factors, we did not have enough time to raise the necessary funds to produce the 2022 event in Detroit,” said Jon Witz, the festival’s producer. “Currently we are in talks with another major municipality that may be able to help fund the festival in early 2022 for southeast Michigan. We will make a formal announcement if that option comes to fruition, and if it doesn’t, we will resume fundraising efforts in the year ahead so the festival can return to Detroit in 2023.”
Through its many iterations (Motown Winter Blast, Detroit’s Winter Blast, the multi-weekend Winter Blast Weekends event, and the 2020 Quicken Loans Winter Blast Weekend presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort) Winter Blast has been a mainstay of the Detroit winter activity season. Originally designed as a showcase for the City of Detroit during Super Bowl XL, the community festival provided unique winter programming, quality of life, and helped showcase local businesses and positive developments in downtown Detroit. Prior to the Pandemic, in 2020, the free event returned to its original, single jam-packed weekend format and hosted 75,000 people in Campus Martius Park.
Winter Blast Weekend’s past sponsors include: Bedrock Detroit, Campus Martius Park, Catalyst Media Factory, Delta Dental, Detroit Downtown Development Authority, DTE Energy Foundation, Imperial Beverage, The Kroger Co., M-1 Studios, Mt. Brighton, Pepsi, Quicken Loans Community Fund, Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Tito’s Vodka, TCF Bank and many more.
About Winter Blast Weekend
Winter Blast Weekend is Detroit’s celebration of winter experiences, dining, music and family. It was originally created as the backdrop for Super Bowl XL. For additional information, visit WinterBlast.com.
Source: Winter Blast Weekend