Detroit, MI
Families welcome snow, cold, Elsa from ‘Frozen’ at Detroit Fire and Ice Festival
Detroit — After a snowfall that stuck, Detroiters took advantage of winter games and activities at the riverfront Sunday.
The Fire and Ice Festival at Robert Valade Park attracted families, especially those who are fans of the animated kids’ movie “Frozen.” Elsa, one of its main characters, visited the park Sunday afternoon.
Johnathan Schultz of Detroit, 45, was strolling his 6-month-old baby while his 4-year-old daughter Norah, who’s a “Frozen fanatic,” was blowing off steam with winter activities until she could meet Elsa.
“She was pretty hyped for it. … People are always complaining that it’s cold, I personally love the cold,” Schultz said.
“She didn’t want to sit in the ice throne. I think the ice throne was a little intimidating for her 4-year-old brain, but mom sat in the ice throne so we got a winning pic out of that.”
The Fire and Ice Festival was named after “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the book series that inspired “Game of Thrones.” The festival also featured ice sculpting, medieval strolling performers who held adventure quests for families, activities like inflatable ax throwing and sledding, live bands and items from local vendors.
Jodi Arka of Allen Park, 38, brought her 5-year-old twins, 8-year-old and 3-year-old to the festival. She wanted to get the kids out of the house during the winter season. They played inflatable basketball, throwing basketballs at multiple rims.
“We went to Atwater (Brewery), had lunch and then let them play the games in the park, check out the ice sculptures,” Arka said.
Roslyn Wiseman of Detroit, 53, was with her 3-year-old granddaughter and husband who she watched sled down a hill at the park. Her granddaughter and other girls were able to take pictures with Elsa.
“We wanted to bring the baby out so that she could sled, to get her in some participation in some cold weather fun,” Wiseman said. “I like to do things in the city, so when I see something pop up in the city we try to make it down.”
Darcie Burton of Detroit was cuddling up with her 8-month-old boy at a giant fireplace. Her 3-year-old daughter loves Elsa which was the selling point for making it out to Sunday’s event.
“We like that there’s snow on the ground,” Burton said. “We were a little bit bummed out that nobody was here a few weeks ago when it first snowed but now that it’s after the holidays, this is a great place to go.”
Until Feb. 23, parkgoers will find winter games, sledding, fireplaces, Fireside Fridays with karaoke and Self Care Sundays featuring mindfulness classes as part of Winter at Valade Park.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
@_myeshajohnson
Detroit, MI
Brother Nature at Night: Jack’s backyard & kayaking the Huron River
Detroit, MI
Detroit Sandwich Party returns to Eastern Market on Sept. 6
(WXYZ) — The third annual Detroit Sandwich Party is coming to Eastern Market on Labor Day weekend, bringing a massive free festival for sandwich lovers.
The festival is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6 at Eastern Market. It’s organized by Carlos Parisi, Will McDowell and Bekah Galang.
Watch our 2025 interview with Carlos in the video below
Detroit Sandwich Party returns to Eastern Market with an expansion on Aug. 31
Organizers are looking for vendors, volunteers and sponsors for the 2026 event. You can learn more and sign up to be a vendor, volunteer or sponsor here.
The event is free to enter, and each vendor will be selling smaller-sized sandwiches for purchase, so people can try as many sandwiches as they want.
Below are some sandwiches from the 2025 festival from Leña, Tall Trees Cafe, Bar Chenin and more
WXYZ
WXYZ
WXYZ
WXYZ
WXYZ
Detroit, MI
Around 400 pairs of shoes intended for charity giveaway stolen from Detroit nonprofit, organization says
Shoes intended for an annual charity giveaway in Detroit were recently stolen from a local nonprofit organization’s warehouse. Now, the group is asking for your help.
NW Goldberg Cares was set to give away 1,000 pairs of sneakers at its annual Hoopfest, a community event tied to Mayor Mary Sheffield’s “Occupy the Summer” initiative, but on Friday, the nonprofit’s founder made a surprising discovery at their warehouse.
“I just happened to notice that something seemed very off about how many shoes were in the warehouse. Sure enough, I went to the back of the facility, saw a bunch of big boxes, as well as some bags that previously had sneakers in it, completely empty,” Daniel Washington, founder and executive director, NW Goldberg Cares, said.
Washington says a person or group stole about 400 pairs of shoes.
“From the looks of it, it looks like they were somehow able to pry up the door on the backside of the building, crawl underneath, and while somebody else was in, somebody was able to hand shoes out underneath the door,” he said.
Washington says a report was filed with the Detroit Police Department, but so far, they don’t have any leads.
“DPD staff is working on the case right now. We’ve been in contact with several sergeants on the issue, and at this point, we’re just hoping for some type of information on it or recovery of some sort,” Washington said.
The custom-designed brand shoes were donated by Social Status Detroit and USA Basketball. The value is more than $40,000.
“Depending on what shoes you’re talking about, you could go as up to $45,000 to $75,000. Because again, shoes, depending, were as much as $220 a shoe. So, a lot of loss,” Washington said.
Since the news broke, the community has stepped up to help.
“We have about over 130 pairs of individual shoes that were donated via our Amazon wish list, which has truly helped us in so many ways because, you know, without those types of donations, without people stepping up, you know, we would be up a creek without a paddle, as they say,” Washington said.
Hoopfest gives hope to kids and teens.
“For so many kids across this great city, they might not have ever had a brand new pair of shoes, right? Money is tight in the household, and at the end of the day, we want to give them that level of confidence or give them that little boost to say, ‘Hey, you deserve the experience of opening up a brand new pair of shoes,’” Washington said.
Washington shared the following final message with CBS News Detroit on Sunday:
“I encourage anybody who needs help, just reach out before you make it or do an act like this that compromises the integrity of an event like ours. Just reach out. Say, ‘We need help.’ Express your needs. Say, ‘Hey, we’d love some support in this way. Is there any way we could work alongside you?’”
The nonprofit founder says they’re resilient and they’re not going to let the incident stop Hoopfest from being a success. The event runs Friday through Sunday at Curtis Jones Park.
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