GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It looked and felt like people in Grand Rapids were living in a giant snow globe Wednesday, which makes it the perfect condition for the largest winter festival in the United States.
World of Winter returns to downtown Grand Rapids Friday, January 12.
"I really enjoy that Grand Rapids likes to put this on for everyone," Terra Haight said. "I just absolutely love it. It gives the community so many things to be able to do, especially in the wintertime when a lot of people want to stay inside."
The two-month festival includes massive art installations, entertaining events and fun activities for all ages— making it great for a family outing, friend meetup or romantic getaway.
This year, World of Winter will include 30 art installations, 81 ice sculptures, 43 free and low-cost events, 35 window installations and more.
"We do get a little worried when it comes to the ice sculptures. We have the big weekend for Valentine's, that's right around Valentine's Day, but then we usually have a featured ice sculpture at each event," Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Communications Director Bill Kirk explained. "So, we always want to make sure we have temperatures cold enough to keep those sculptures around."
Crews were working hard to get things in place Wednesday evening, with opening day this Friday.
"Getting these installs up— the ones you see behind us here, and a couple others right here in the neighborhood— being able to get those up this week, on the earlier end of things before the storm got here, it's great for our team. They're fantastic," Kirk said.
A new exhibit to be featured at World of Winter 2024 honors Michigan's prehistoric past.
"There's a cool connection there between the mastodon fossil that was found in Michigan, and it's also the state fossil here. But that's also designed to raise some awareness around climate change because those mastodons went extinct so many years ago," Kirk said.
"The frogs behind me, the 'Night Walkers,' they all represent frogs from different areas of the world," Kirk showed FOX 17 Wednesday. "And they're actually programmed to make the actual sounds of those frogs."
Locations include Ah-Nab-Awen Park, Blue Bridge, Calder Plaza, Canal Park, DeVos Place, Gillett Bridge, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Rosa Parks Circle, Van Andel Arena and more.
World of Winter runs through Sunday, March 10. Click here for more information.
